The House of Representatives has rejected the extension of the deadline to return old naira notes to February 10 by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, on Sunday announced the deadline extension after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in his private residence in Aso Villa, Abuja.
The old and new naira swap exercise was extended with a seven-day grace period, which will take effect from February 10 to February 17, 2023, opening additional window for Nigerians to return the old naira notes in their possession to the CBN (not commercial banks) after the February 10 deadline, when the old currency would have lost its Legal Tender status.
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The decision came after much criticism ignited by the hardship created by the scarcity of the new naira notes across the country.
In reaction to the deadline extension, the Ad Hoc Committee, chaired by the leader of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, rejected the extension. Doguwa, who had earlier threatened to issue a warrant for the arrest of Emefiele, said that the CBN must comply with sections 20 sub 3, 4, and 5 of the CBN act.
“The 10-day extension for the exchange of the old naira notes is not the solution,” he said.
Doguwa added: “We as a legislative committee with a constitutional mandate of the House, would only accept clear compliance with section 20 sub 3, 4, and 5 of the CBN act and nothing more.
“Nigeria as a developing economy and a nascent democracy must respect the principle of the rule of law.
“And the House would go ahead to sign arrest warrant to compel the CBN Governor to appear before the ad hoc committee.”
He said under his chairmanship, the committee would continue its work until it gets the demands of Nigerians addressed in accordance with the laws of the land.
Describing the extension as a mere political gimmick to further deceive Nigerians and worsen their economic and social livelihood, Doguwa said the CBN governor must appear before or stand the risk of being arrested on the strength of legislative writs signed by the Speaker on Monday.
He also said the policy is capable of frustrating the forthcoming general elections.
“Security agencies and their operations, especially at the state level, are generally funded through cash advances and direct table payments of allowances to operatives during elections,” he said.
With Buhari’s backing, the CBN announced a seeming twin monetary policy late last year: The redesign of N200, N500 and N1,000 notes and the withdrawal policy that limits how much individuals and corporate bodies could withdraw weekly to N500,000 and N5 million respectively.
However, criticism has continued to follow the policies since then, with calls rising from many quarters of the country, including the National Assembly, for the policies to be reviewed.
The concern mainly lies on the negative impact of the policies on Nigeria’s economy, particularly the informal sector – currently grappling with an unfriendly business environment.
But the CBN has stood its ground amid the public outcry and threat from lawmakers to arrest the central bank governor. The financial sector regulator said the policies will help in curbing issues of insecurity, currency counterfeiting, inflation among others.
However, presidential interventions have caused the apex bank to budge here and there. Before its decision to extend the deadline, the CBN had adjusted the weekly withdrawal limit from N100,000 for individuals and N500,000 for corporate organizations.