CBN says naira counterfeiting is less that one per cent per cent

The Central Bank of Nigeria has debunked claims of high naira counterfeting, which speculation puts at about 20 per cent.

In a statement by the regulator’s Acting Director of Communication, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, made available to The Rainbow on Wednesday, it denounced the claims as ‘spurious and grossly uninformed.’ 

Read the full statement below:
The attention of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been drawn  to certain  spurious  and  grossly  uninformed  claims

suggesting that about 20  per  cent of  the  Naira  currency notes in  circulation are counterfeited.

While we acknowledge that no currency in the world is immune from counterfeiting, we make bold to state that the rate of counterfeiting

in Nigeria has been very minimal due to appropriate policies put in  place by the Bank. Indeed, our records at the Bank clearly indicate

that  the  prevalence  of  counterfeit  notes  in  Nigeria  from  January  to December  2016  was LESS  THAN  ONE  PER  CENT  (0.0014

%)  or  14 counterfeit pieces out of one million bank notes.

In   line   with   our   core   value   of   proactivity,   we   have   always endeavored to  use strong security features  to  make  it  difficult  for

dishonest  persons  to  counterfeit  the  currency.  In  addition  to  that, we have carried out periodic massive nationwide enlightenment of

Nigerians on easy identification of fake banknotes and the reporting of such.

We therefore find it rather curious that a former high ranking official of the CBN would   make   such   bogus   and   unauthentic   claims

apparently calculated to destroy confidence in our national currency and  sabotage  the collaborative efforts  of  the  CBN  and  the  Federal

Government at ensuring enduring stability of the financial system.

The  unfortunate  implication  of the  fabricated  claim  of  the  said former official of the Bank, is that it gives the false impression that two bills out of every ten Naira

pieces held by an individual is fake'.
We  therefore challenge
the  said former  CBN  official  to  make  public the empirical evidence suggesting that 20 per cent Naira currency in circulation is fake.

For the avoidance of doubt, the CBN frowns strongly at attempts to counterfeit  the  Naira.  We  remain  committed

to  safeguarding  the value  of  the  Naira  by  ensuring  that our  Naira banknotes  are  not susceptible to counterfeiting. we also work constantly with relevant

security   agencies   to   monitor   and   check   the   activities   of counterfeiters.

Members  of  the  public  are  therefore  advised to  disregard  the  false alarm  raised  by  the  said  former CBN official,  e  wary  of  the

activities  of  counterfeiters  and  report  any  case  of  counterfeiting  to the police and their banks.