The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele is facing fresh arrest threats days after the Department of State Services declared him wanted, pushing for his arrest.
The fresh move to arrest Emefiele is coming from Nigeria’s House of Representatives, following his refusal to appear on Thursday before the lawmakers over the new naira notes. The House ad hoc committee led by Alhassan Doguwa had invited the apex bank head as part of its mandate to interface with the CBN and commercial banks.
The Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, had earlier warned that he wouldn’t hesitate to issue an arrest warrant on Emefiele if he fails to honor the invitation of the committee. He said the House was willing to invoke section 89 of the 1999 Constitution by asking the Inspector General of Police to arrest the CBN governor.
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Despite the warning, Emefiele did not honor the invitation of the committee, riling the House up. Doguwa, who was swift to condemn the development, calling Emefiele “monster”, said the CBN falsely wrote a letter to inform the House that the CBN governor is not in the country.
“They (CBN) have shunned the House of Representatives again. We are dealing—not only with an institution that we call apex bank—but a monster at the head of that bank. Monster, because if you have disregard for the laws of your land, then absolutely you are on your own,” he said.
Both the House and the Senate had repeatedly invited Emefiele over the redesigned naira notes and the new cash withdrawal limit introduced late last year. The CBN governor had each time declined the invitation to the fury of the lawmakers.
Doguwa said the central bank has been lying to the House that its governor is not in the country, describing it as “a lie by the bank to disregard the committee.”
He made reference to an earlier invitation which Emefiele had ignored on the excuse that he was not in the country.
“Earlier, we received a letter from the CBN, claiming that CBN governor was out of the country with Mr President.
“You can all agree with me that Mr President is back. I wonder how officials of the CBN will now write a letter, lying to the National Assembly that the CBN governor is out of the country with the president,” he said.
Doguwa said the warrant of Emefiele’s arrest will be issued on Tuesday.
The introduction of the new N200, N500 and N1,000 naira notes and the new cash withdrawal policy, which limits weekly cash withdrawal to N500,000 for individuals and N5 million for corporate organizations, have been one of Emefiele’s most controversial policies.
Both the House and the Senate had called on Emefiele to extend the January 31 deadline for the return of the old naira notes to banks. But the apex bank’s boss has repeatedly said that there is no going back on the deadline, boasting that he has President Muhammadu Buhari’s backing.
Among the concerns raised by the lawmakers is the impact the CBN’s policies will have on the informal sector and the general wellbeing of Nigerians. Currently, there is little of the new naira notes in circulation, which banks have attributed to massive shortage from the central bank.
As of Thursday, banks ATMs remain empty while customers who walk into the banks for over-the-counter withdrawals complain that they’re issued the old naira notes.
In response to the situation, the CBN has accused the banks of hoarding the new naira notes, threatening to sanction anyone caught in the act. The apex bank said there is enough new naira notes to ensure adequate circulation in the country.
Gbajabiamila said the deadline given by the CBN for the return of the old naira notes to banks contravenes the CBN Act.
“The House is also aware that Section 20 (3) Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act mandates the CBN to redeem the face value of the recalled currency upon demand, even after the expiration of the notice of recall. Notwithstanding the deadline imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), this House will see to it that this provision of the law is honoured in full.
“Now let me explain that again: the CBN Act, under Section 20, allows the Central Bank to change the legal tender. It also says that after the expiration date, such naira notes changed will no longer be legal tender, but it also says that even five months, three months, or two months after, even in June, all the old notes presented to the bank shall be redeemed by the bank,” he said.