Baring any unforeseen circumstances or changes in its scheme of operation, the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc (NSMC),may commence full scale printing of the proposed N5000 currency note by May 2013,
when relevant security and printing equipment needed to handle the job would have been procured from overseas manufacturers. The assurance is coming against the backdrop of agitations by some Nigerian stakeholders that the N40billion allegedly earmarked for the printing of the notes overseas would further drain the nation’s dwindling financial resources.
when relevant security and printing equipment needed to handle the job would have been procured from overseas manufacturers. The assurance is coming against the backdrop of agitations by some Nigerian stakeholders that the N40billion allegedly earmarked for the printing of the notes overseas would further drain the nation’s dwindling financial resources.
Managing Director/ Chief Executive of the company, Mr Emmanuel Ehi Okoyomon, who gave the indication while fielding questions from pressmen at the 17th Edition of Association of Africa Banknotes and Security Documents Printers holding in Lagos, Monday, said the organization was making elaborate plans to ensure that Nigerians are supplied with the best quality notes from the Mint when productions begins in earnest next year.
He explained that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will soon unveil design of N5000 currency note eventually, even as he noted there are particular security features that NSMC currently does not have the machine to print presently. Notwithstanding, he assured that by middle of next year, the Nigerian Security Minting and Printing Company will get the necessary equipment to handle the printing of the notes within the country.
He debunked insinuation that the notes have already been printed by overseas contractors and ready for circulation, adding however that efforts were being made to adequately equip the Mint to print the volume of each currency that the nation needs at any given time. On how to check counterfeiting of the proposed currency notes, Okoyomon said, “the truth of the matter is that counterfeiting was like computer virus which will always be difficult to completely stamp out. And that why it has become necessary for the country to regularly restructure its currencies to remain ahead of the counterfeiters considering that the advent of high resolution computers are now making faking of currencies easier for the perpetrators. He said it was against this background that the CBN was including several security features on the currency to ensure they would not be easily reproduced by anybody.
The NSMC boss explained that his organization regularly gets bundles of such fake currencies bills of naira, dollar and other currencies from security agencies like Police, SSS, CBN, and EFCC for analysis.
SOURCE; THE DAILY SUN 11TH SEPT. 2012
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