The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) will issue polymer bank notes, which will be launched formally by President Umaru Musa Yar’adua as part of activities to commemorate the nation’s 49th Independence anniversary celebrations. Presently, only the N20 bill is issued in polymer notes.
Ben Onyido, the CBN’s director of currency and branch operations, said yesterday in Abuja that the new bank notes, which will come in the N5, N10 and N50 currency denominations, will be introduced to replace the ones currently in circulation.
Apart from retaining their current designs, the new notes will have the essential features of the current N20 bill, while the old notes will continue to remain legal tenders for the next six months, until March 31, 2010, when they are expected to be phased out.
The CBN said it has already established exchange windows across the country for members of the public to exchange their genuine old ‘paper’ banknotes for the new polymer notes.
Features of the new notes
The N5 note was originally introduced in 1979, before it was changed to its current predominant mauve colour in 1984, while the essential features remained, with the engraved portrait of Abubarkar Tafawa Balewa (1912-1966), and the first Prime Minister (1957-1966).
The N10 note, also originally introduced in 1979 and re-issued in 1984 in a red colour, has the engraved portrait of Alvan Ikoku (1900-1971), a prominent educationist, on the front, while the back has a picture of Fulani milk maids.
The N50 note was introduced in 1991 and redesigned in 2007, with intricately combined sky blue ornamental patterns, and geometric motifs adapted from Nigerian traditional art forms. The back side image depicts a big catch by local fishermen.
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