Nigeria three new polymer notes confirmed

On 16 September 2009, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced plans to issue 1.9 billion new polymer notes in 5, 10, and 50 naira denominations, worth US$0.03, 0.06, and 0.32, respectively. President Umaru Yar’Adua launched the new notes on 30 September. 1.3 billion note were printed abroad, while the remaining 615 million were printed by the Nigeria Security Printing and Minting.

Governor Lamido Aminu Sanusi said, “The existing denominations of N5, N10, and N50 paper notes remain legal tender and will circulate side by side with the new polymer notes for the next six months. The new N5, N10, and N50 polymer notes have retained their current sizes, designs and other key elements. Only the watermark has been replaced with the transparent window and G-switch which turns from green to gold when the note is tilted.”

The move to polymer is intended as a cost-savings measure since polymer notes last longer than paper notes, even though they are initially more expensive to produce.

The 5- and 10-naira notes are signed by the former governor, Chukwuma “Charles” Soludo, while the 50-naira note is signed by the present governor, Sanusi. Both are also signed by Benjamin C. Onyido as DIRECTOR OF CURRENCY AND BRANCH OPERATIONS.

Courtesy of Arigo Avbovbo.