By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Security Printing and Minting (NSPM) Plc, otherwise known as The Mint, has allayed fears over the quality of the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 after Nigerians complained that they were fading upon contact with water, urging them to stop subjecting the new Naira notes to experiments to prove a point.
In a statement, the Managing Director of the organisation, Mr Ahmed Halilu, said that best international best practice was followed in their production.
He said, “International practices have been deployed in the production of our national symbol, the Naira, and we shall continue to ensure that it meets international standards.”
He, however, confirmed that the new Naira notes would be losing their colours when rubbed on white surfaces, but not due to poor quality.
Mr Halilu noted the new Naira notes “leave traces of intaglio inks when rubbed on plain white surfaces.”
He explained further that “the new Naira notes are of the same substrates and passed through the same printing processes and finishing procedures as the old notes they are about to replace.”
The NSPM Chief insisted that the new notes were basically of the same quality as as the other notes in circulation.
He said that generally, new notes were light when issued but over time, become heavier as they stay in circulation and on getting in contact with dirt and moisture.
According to him, “the second stage of currency printing (intaglio) requires a heavy deposit of special inks with fairly large particles to give a tactile feeling of the portraits as well as other raised prints by way of design”.
One of the properties of intaglio inks, he stated, “is non-solubility in water and ease of transfer (light stain) on plain white materials owing to the size of the particles”.
This ink, he added, was a security feature of all banknotes that easily differentiates them from forged or counterfeited notes.
Mr Halilu said that his company has been meeting the currency needs of Nigeria “with the support of the Central Bank of Nigeria since 2014, and Nigeria has achieved zero importation of currency, developed local capacity and, to an extent, conserved foreign exchange within this period,” and that it would maintain international standards in producing the Naira.
