Currency in circulation appreciated to N1.98 trillion in March 2017, representing 0.24 per cent increase compared with N1.978 trillion in February 2017, according to data obtained from the website of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The currency in circulation, which is the physical money used for transactions between consumers and businesses, had opened 2017 at N1.99 trillion. The N1.98 trillion in March implies that currency in circulation has fallen by 8.97 per cent in 2017 from N2.18 trillion it opened this year.
The apex had said N1.9 trillion currency was in circulation for month ended November. According to LEADERSHIP investigation, the N1.9 trillion reported by CBN was the highest naira in circulation reported for 2016. The amount of Naira in circulation according to CBN in November 2016 increased by 4.5per cent from N1.8 trillion reported by CBN in October
According to data collected by our correspondent, the currency in circulation early this year was N1.7 trillion but dropped by 0.78 per cent to N1.7 trillion in February. Currency in circulation according to CBN data stood at N1.86 trillion in March, the second highest Naira in circulation. In April 2016, the figure fell by 2.6 per cent to N1.76 trillion and closed May and June at N1.75 trillion and N1.68 trillion respectively.
Further investigation by revealed that currency in circulation remained flat at N1.66 trillion and N1.68 trillion in July and August 2016 respectively. The CBN in February this year had disclosed that 0.0014 per cent fake notes in circulation.
CBN’s acting director, corporate communications, Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, said in a statement that, “the attention of the CBN has been drawn to certain spurious and grossly uninformed claims suggesting that about 20 per cent of the Naira currency notes in circulation are counterfeited.
“While we acknowledge that no currency in the world is immune from counterfeiting, we make bold to state that the rate of counterfeiting in Nigeria has been very minimal due to appropriate policies put in place by the Bank.
“Indeed, our records at the Bank clearly indicate that the prevalence of counterfeit notes in Nigeria from January to December 2016 was less than one per cent (0.0014per cent) or 14 counterfeit pieces out of one million bank notes.
“In line with our core value of proactivity, we have always endeavoured to use strong security features to make it difficult for dishonest persons to counterfeit the currency. In addition to that, we have carried out periodic massive nation-wide enlightenment of Nigerians on easy identification of fake banknotes and the reporting of such.’’