The commemorative N50 note which is of the same design as the N50 in circulation bears slight modifications in the form of the 50th anniversary logo, a gold iridescent band, and a goodwill message written in varnish will be circulated alongside the existing N50 note while the commemorative coins in 22 carat gold will serve as gift items to some of the important dignitaries expected.
According to President Jonathan, “CBN of any nation is always at the vanguard of the economic development of that nation,”expressing the Federal Government’s support for the current financial sector reforms being carried out by the apex bank. He urged the CBN to continue to work to consolidate on the economic gains so far recorded by the country.
Earlier in his remarks before the presentation of the commemorative currencies, the CBN Governor, Lamido Sanusi, said the apex bank was working on new proposals to reintroduce coins into the economy.
“We will soon unfold proposals to Your Excellency that should mark the beginning of the return of coins into circulation. The CBN has evolved plans that would enhance the efficiency and self reliance of Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company (NSMPC) with a view to improving its performance in notes printing. Our obligation is to achieve self-sufficiency in the printing of notes. Furthermore, we are redesigning the Nigerian banknotes series to reduce costs and enhance security”.
Going down memory lane, Sanusi said: “It would be recalled that since the first Nigerian currency, denominated in pound, ten shillings and five shillings were issued on July1, 1959, it had undergone various transformations as the CBN evolved and as our circumstances improved”
“For instance, on July 1, 1965, the first series of banknotes were replaced with new banknotes, to commemorate the republic status of the country. Thereafter, in 1968, the bank issued a new set of banknotes to forestall the usage of illegally withdrawn notes from CBN Enugu, Port Harcourt and Benin branches during the civil war”.
Explaining further, the CBN boss said, “with the adoption of decimalisation in 1973, a new series of notes was introduced in naira and kobo. The new currency was in denominations of ten naira, five naira, one naira, 25 kobo notes as well as 25 kobo, 10 kobo, five kobo, one kobo and half kobo”.
“ In 1977, the N20 denomination which bore the portrait of the late General Murtala Mohammed was issued into circulation and marked the first time that the portrait of a Nigerian citizen would be featured in our bank note. Subsequently, the portraits of eminent Nigerian citizens have graced our national currency”. Also in 1979, the N10 , five naira, and one naira notes had the portraits of three eminent Nigerians, Alvan Ikoku, Abubakar Tafawa-Balewa and Herbert Macaulay. The N100 note with the portrait of Obafemi Awolowo was issued in December 1999, while the N200 note with the portrait Ahmadu Bello was launched in November 2000. The N500 was introduced into circulation in November 2000 with the portrait of Nnamdi Azikiwe.
Finally, the CBN governor said the N1000 was issued in October 2005 with the portrait of Aliyu Mai-Borno and Clement Isong. Sanusi said, “The higher denominations were introduced as part of the bank’s effort at promoting effectiveness in its currency management and also to enhance efficiency in the nation’s payment system”.
He stated that to further reduce the currency management cost, “the lower denomination bank notes of N5, N10, and N50 were redesigned and introduced into circulation in February 2007. In addition, the polymer substrate was first used in the production of the Nigerian currency starting with N20 note while the rest of the lower denomination banknotes were subsequently reissued in polymer substrate in September 2009.”
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