The rate of naira counterfeiting is less than one per cent, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), has said.
In a reaction to a widely publicised report alluding to wide range naira counterfeiting of about 20 per cent, the Acting Director, Corporate Communication of the regulator, Isaac Okorafor, said nothing can be further from the truth, saying those parading that line of information were grossly uninformed.
In a statement on Tuesday, Okorafor said: “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 nation-wide enlightenment of Nigerians on easy identification of fake banknotes and the reporting of such.”
He said the apex bank found 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,” adding, “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.”