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How To Identify Fake Naira Notes

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Some days after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) released the redesigned Naira currency in the denominations of N200, N500 and N1,000, fake notes of the new N1000 Naira notes have been circulated in the economy.

A fake currency is an imitation of currency produced without legal authorisation from the state of government.

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Identification of original Naira notes from fake pieces in the economy does not require a formal education, there are differences to look for.

This report reveals how fake Naira notes can be identified which will prevent good citizens from being scammed.

The Naira notes are protected by various security features to enable the easy recognition of genuine notes.

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READ ALSO: ICAN Identifies Five Challenges Of CBN Naira Redesign

These are five simple guidelines on a Naira note that will help you to differentiate a counterfeit Naira from a genuine one.

1. Check the texture

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If the texture of the Naira note is soft and the image in it appears dull, you have the right to be concerned, reject it and demand another one.

This means that you should be sensitive to the touch of the money you are given when involved in any transaction.

2. Observe the gold foil

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The N1000 note has a gold foil on the right side, just near the CBN governor’s signature. If you scratch the gold foil of a fake note it will peel off instantly but the gold foil on the original note does not peel.

3. Use water or other liquid

You can differentiate fake currency from the original by using water or other liquid. Scammers release fake money and the colours they use in printing counterfeits are soluble in water and some other liquids.

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If you are not certain about the originality of a Naira note, dip it in water or petrol and scrub it gently. The colours will change immediately if it is fake money. The colours of counterfeit money will wash off like an artwork painted with watercolour.

Again, the moment you immerse it in water, the paper becomes messed up. It will get rough and look more like a paper mache. However, the real note will not look like this when immersed in water or any liquid.

4. Examine the ribbon/thread

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There is a thread which appears like a ribbon on all Naira notes, running from the top to the bottom.

In real notes, this thread can be felt with a touch. It is more noticeable on old Naira notes. However, in fake notes, there is something that looks like the thread but it is not.

READ ALSO: Why I Approved Redesign Of Naira Notes – Buhari

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In the counterfeit notes, what is there is just a straight-line painting that looks like the thread in the original notes. If you scratch the painting, it will peel off like the solver panel on recharge cards.

5. Use mercury bulbs

Some qualities of the paper Naira notes cannot be seen with the naked eye. These features are only in original Naira notes, and one cannot see them except with the help of mercury bulbs.

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For instance, if a real N1000 note is placed under the rays from a mercury bulb, it will show a shining 1000 (in numbers) written across the note. The same is applicable to smaller denominations.

These five simple tips discussed above are enough for anyone to use to differentiate original Naira notes from fake ones.
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Naira Continues To Appreciate Against Dollar On Official Market

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The naira continued its appreciation against the dollar at the foreign exchange market on Tuesday.

Accordingly, the naira strengthened further to N1,533.18 against the dollar on Tuesday, from N1,534.21 traded the previous day.

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This represents a gain of N1.03 against the dollar on a day-to-day basis and marks the second consecutive day of appreciation at the official FX market.

READ ALSO:Woman Arrested For Killing, Selling Pregnant Nurse’s Body Parts

Meanwhile, on the black market, the naira depreciated further to N1,545 per dollar on Tuesday from N1,537 traded on Monday.

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Recall that the naira had similarly closed Monday’s trading session with mixed sentiments, recording gains at the official market but depreciating at the parallel market.

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Dangote Refinery Gets New CEO

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The Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has appointed David Bird, the former head of Oman’s Duqm Refinery, as its new Chief Executive Officer.

A report by S&P global on Friday said, Bird heads the refinery’s petroleum and petrochemicals division in a strategic move to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.

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Effective from July 2025, the former Shell head of operations at its Balau Pokom refinery stepped in as CEO of the Dangote Group’s fuels and petrochemicals business, which commissioned the world’s largest single-train refinery last year.

Our correspondent also observed that the CEO participated at the just concluded Dangote Leadership Development Program Graduation Ceremony.

The appointment signals the company’s renewed focus on scaling production, streamlining operations, and positioning itself as a dominant force in Africa’s refining and petrochemical landscape.

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READ ALSO:Dangote Cement Gets New Chairman As Aliko Dangote Retires

The report read, “Nigeria’s Dangote Group has appointed the former head of Oman’s Duqm refinery as CEO of its petroleum and petrochemicals business as it strives to overcome production challenges and advance its next wave of expansion.”

It, however, noted that the Dangote Group founder Aliko Dangote, will remain as chairman of the refining business and CEO of the wider conglomerate, which is also active in cement, fertilizers and sugar refining.

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The business is expected to tap Bird’s experience expanding the Duqm refinery and diversifying its crude slate as CEO of OQ8, a role he adopted months before the Omani complex began its first test runs in 2023.

Commenting on his appointment, Bird said his focus at Dangote will involve advancing the group’s footprint beyond the Nigerian market and across the African continent.

As CEO of the refining business, he will be responsible for ensuring maximum output and efficiency for the refinery, and aims to make the group a leader in the global market, a LinkedIn update noted.

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READ ALSO:JUST IN: Dangote Refinery Hikes Petrol Ex-depot Price

The appointment comes after a string of unit upsets and “design issues” that have stalled the ramp-up process of the 650,000-b/d refinery, while its leadership has called out a hostile business environment for challenging its operations.

Since it was commissioned in January 2024, Dangote has quickly grown its market share in the Nigerian fuel sector, displacing large volumes of gasoline imports that the country once relied on.

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However, Aliko Dangote has railed against “rent-seeking” trade partners and substandard fuel imports for putting strain on the business.

In a previous interview with Platts, Bird emphasised a trading-led approach to achieve a competitive edge in the refining sector, with a focus on high utilisation rates, efficiency and feedstock flexibility.

His approach aligns with a recent shift from the Dangote complex to process a wider range of crude grades, partially spurred by limited availability of the Nigerian oil it was designed to process.

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READ ALSO:World Bank Appoints Africa’s Richest Man, Dangote

However, the Nigerian refinery is still obliged to sell fixed volumes of its oil products into the domestic crude market under a naira-based trade agreement with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, a 7.2 per cent stakeholder in the business.

As the Dangote Group eyes its next wave of growth, it plans to expand the capacity of the Lagos refinery to 700,000 barrels per day, build out port infrastructure and establish foreign storage assets in Namibia and other countries.

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In August, it is set to roll out its own distribution business with a fleet of 4,000 CNG-powered trucks.

Dangote Group officials have also shared ambitions to list the refining business on the London and Lagos stock exchanges, and Aliko Dangote reiterated plans to take the business public.

READ ALSO:Dangote Petrol: MRS Increases Fuel Price

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After years of setbacks and budget challenges, the speed of the refinery’s ramp-up in 2024 caught many analysts by surprise, and the complex quickly began exerting pressure on global oil benchmarks as it began exporting its products.

Yet despite beginning test runs on its main gasoline outlet, the residue fluid catalytic cracker, in Q3 2024, the company has since suffered repeated outages on the unit in 2025, forcing it to rely on its lower-yield reformer and sacrifice output over extended periods.

Speaking to Platts earlier in July, a Dangote executive said the RFCC was running at 85 per cent. He denied reports that the company will undergo a planned turnaround on the unit in December.

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According to S&P Global Commodities at Sea data, Nigeria exported some 220,000 b/d of petroleum products in July 2025, when outages at NNPC facilities made Dangote the country’s only active refiner.

The complex exported 30,000 b/d of residual fuel, a refining byproduct which would normally be kept on site for further processing in the RFCC under normal operations.

Exports continue to be dominated by jet fuel, which accounted for 45 per cent of total shipments, and gasoil with a 24 per cent share.

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Petrol Tankers To Stop Loading Beyond 45,000 Litres By October 1 – IPMAN

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The Western Zone of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria has said tankers will no longer load more than 45,000 litres of the product from October 1.

The Chairman of the zone, Chief Oyewole Akanni, disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Ibadan on Friday.

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Akanni stated that the measure was adopted in a joint meeting involving IPMAN, the government and other stakeholders, held to reduce the cases of petroleum tanker accidents.

The stakeholders, he said, are the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and oil marketers.

READ ALSO:Five Things To Know About Gabon

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He said, “Before now, some tankers carried up to 90,000 or 60,000 litres, which was dangerous.

“Those big tankers damage our roads, as the trucks are made to carry far more than they were designed for.

“And when overloaded, they become unstable and fall, causing accidents.”

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Akanni stated that the government had also mandated all tankers to install safety covers that prevent spillage in the event of a crash.

With these covers, even if a tanker falls, fuel won’t spill, except if the tank is punctured,” he said.

READ ALSO:Petrol Tanker Explodes In Ibadan

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He, however, lamented the activities of vandals, who deliberately puncture fallen tankers to steal fuel, describing it as a major challenge.

The IPMAN chairman also said that PTD discovered that most accidents occurred at night due to fatigue.

We have, therefore, instructed drivers not to drive at night.

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“Once it is 7.00 p.m., they must park and continue their journey by 7.00 a.m. the next day, but some still disobey this directive,” he said.

READ ALSO:Petroleum Minister, Lokpobiri, Reveals When Fuel Will Be Available

Akanni assured that IPMAN would continue to work with stakeholders to ensure that tanker-related accidents were minimised.

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He said that the spate of fatalities had triggered federal interventions, calling for stricter regulations, mass education, and enforced safety reforms.

According to Akanni, the incidents form part of a broader wave of tanker disasters across Nigeria.

These are marked by systemic failures, including overloading, poor infrastructure, inadequate enforcement, alongside dangerous public practices like fuel scooping,” he said.

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