savings would be channeled to provide incentives for the usage and acceptance of coins. as a means of realising the above objectives, several entities have collaborated to redesign the new currency series. these include the currency operations department, nigerian security printing and minting company ( nspm ) plc, along with competent international consultants. on the 28 th of november, 2011, the cbn board considered and approved the new currency series. it subsequently sought and on the 19th of december, 2011 obtained the approval of his excellency, the president, dr. goodluck ebele jonathan, gcfr. under the new structure, the existing denominations of n50, n100, n200, n500 and n1, 000 will be redesigned with added new security features. it is our pleasure to inform you that a new high currency denomination will also be introduced. it is the n5, 000 note. in the bis central bankers ’ speeches same vein, the lower banknote denominations of n5, n10 and n20 will be coined. consequently, the naira currency structure will now be twelve ( 12 ) ; these are six ( 6 ) coins and six ( 6 ) banknote denominations. the details are as follows : coins 50k n1 n2 n5 n10 n20 banknotes n50 n100 n200 n500 n1, 000 n5, 000 presently, efforts are being put in place to ensure that the redesigned n50 and the new n5, 000 banknotes should be launched early in 2013. it has been argued that the introduction of a higher denomination banknote could exert inflationary pressures in the economy. ladies and gentlemen, inflation in nigeria is a monetary phenomenon. secondly, in some countries such as singapore, germany and japan the highest denominations are 10, 000 sgd, €500 and yen10, 000 respectively. these denominations have relatively high dollar equivalent. the levels of inflation are, however, low at 2. 8, 1. 1, and – 0. 7 as at 2010. furthermore, we believe that the introduction of a higher bill would complement the bank ’ s cash less policy as it would substantially reduce the volume of currency - in - circulation particularly in the long term. to encourage the usage of coins the cbn would liaise with relevant mdas, dmbs, road transport workers, market operators, small businesses, supermarkets, vendors, etc to create avenues for the usage of the coins. we would ensure that coin collection is convenient and

##notes in 2007. these lower denomination notes were eventually converted into polymer banknotes in 2009. as a first step towards this routine exercise, the cbn carried out a review of the existing currency series in 2010. the exercise threw up several revelations and challenges such as the following : • public apathy towards the usage of the 50k, n1 and n2 coins, introduced in february, 2007. bis central bankers ’ speeches • the varnished lower denomination banknotes failed to adequately meet expected longevity. • significant difficulties associated with the processing and destruction ( briquetting ) of the polymer banknotes. it is important to add that this situation has largely constrained the realisation of the benefits expected from polymer banknotes over paper notes. • the tactile feature for the visually impaired on the polymer notes has not been as effective as desired. in the light of the observed challenges, the cbn conducted several stakeholders ’ fora in 2011 on currency restructuring to gauge public and independent perspectives on the existing banknotes and coin series. the issues raised and the subsequent findings and decisions were summarised as follows : • due to inflationary pressures, the cbn should coin lower denominations of currency up to n100. the relevant denominations in this category are n5, n10, n20, n50 and n100 ; • need to encourage the usage of coins ; and • enhancement of the quality of banknotes. • the cbn should introduce higher denomination banknotes to discourage dollarization, reduce the volume of banknotes as well as the overall cost of currency management. gentlemen of the press, we are now about to embark on another comprehensive review of our national currency structure. the impending review exercise is aimed at achieving the following objectives : ( i ) upgrading the design of the entire existing range of currency denominations in order to enhance the quality and integrity of the banknotes ; ( ii ) incorporating a more effective feature for the visually challenged ; ( iii ) introducing new security features on the redesigned banknotes. the intention here is to enable us take ownership and control of the new features on the series and eliminate payment of royalties on patented security features ; ( iv ) achieving an optimal currency structure that will ensure cost effectiveness and balanced mix and utilization of all the currency denominations ; ( v ) introducing new series of coins that would be generally acceptable for purposes of transaction ; and ( vi ) reducing the cost of production, distribution and disposal of banknotes by introducing a higher bill that would reduce the volume and cost of notes in circulation. the