Persistent abuse, mutilation, and improper handling of the Naira impose avoidable financial costs on the country, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Olayemi Cardoso, warned on Tuesday. He spoke at the inauguration of the CBN’s Naira Ambassadors Club in Abuja.
Cardoso said the bank’s investment in producing clean, durable, and secure banknotes could only achieve the desired impact if members of the public handled the currency properly after it entered circulation. He stressed that safeguarding the national currency must be regarded as a collective civic responsibility.
He said, “When banknotes are defaced, mutilated, or improperly handled, they deteriorate much faster than expected. This increases replacement costs, disrupts the efficiency of currency circulation, and imposes avoidable financial burdens on the nation. “The preservation of our currency is therefore not merely an operational concern for the Central Bank; it is a matter of national responsibility.” The CBN governor described the Naira as much more than paper and polymer, noting that it serves as the country’s legal tender, facilitates economic activities, supports savings and investment, and remains a visible symbol of Nigeria’s identity and sovereignty.
According to him, every banknote tells a story about the nation through the portraits of distinguished Nigerians, national symbols, and security features embedded in it to sustain public confidence in the monetary system. He stressed that the CBN continually invests significant resources in producing clean, durable, and secure banknotes to meet the needs of our economy, noting that “preservation of our currency is therefore not merely an operational concern for the Central Bank; it is a matter of national responsibility”.
He said lasting social transformation is most effective when driven through education, adding that young people remain powerful agents of change capable of influencing families, schools, and wider society. The central bank governor said, “The Naira Ambassadors Club is founded on this conviction.
Through this platform, we seek to nurture a generation of young Nigerians who understand not only the value of money but also the responsibility that comes with preserving a national currency.