Once again, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele failed to appear before the House of Representatives on Tuesday over the apex bank’s recent policy on cash withdrawals.
Following a letter last Thursday telling the lawmakers that he was in the United States on an important assignment, Emefiele sent another letter stating that he was still outside the country. The House has resolved that he should appear on Thursday.
The House of Representatives first summoned the CBN governor on December 8, ordering the suspension of cash withdrawal limits by the apex bank after a resolution during plenary.
This came after the CBN, two weeks ago, issued a circular ordering Deposit Money Banks (DMOs) and other financial institutions to ensure that weekly over-the-counter (OTC) cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities do not exceed N100,000 and N500,000, respectively.
The apex bank further fixed daily maximum withdrawals via point of sale (PoS) terminal at N20,000.
READ ALSO: Minor Arrested For ‘Insulting’ Gov Buni On Social Media
“The maximum cash withdrawal per week via Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) shall be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day.
“Only denominations of N200 and below shall be loaded into the ATMs,” the bank also said, adding that the new policy is sequel to the launch of the redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 notes by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 23, 2022,” it said.
According to the apex bank, the regulatory directives take effect nationwide from January 9, 2023.
In a related development, Emefiele announced the redesigning of the three bank notes on October 26, 2022, saying the new and existing currencies will remain legal tender and circulate together until January 31, 2023.
According to him, the redesigned notes will limit cash in circulation and therefore restricts the heinous activities of ransom-demanding kidnappers as well as politicians wont to rigging elections.
On Monday, the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice John Tsoho, declined an application by the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest and detain Emefiele.
Justice Tsoho, while declining the motion ex-parte filed by an applicant in the absence of the respondent, stated that the secret police did not provide any concrete evidence to substantiate its claims that the CBN governor was involved in terrorism financing and economic crimes.
At the proceeding, the Judge noted that the name of the respondent was given simply as ‘Godwin Emefiele’ without a material disclosure that he is the same person as the CBN governor.
Commenting during a press conference on Tuesday, the Arewa Youth Assembly expressed support for Emefiele over the redesign of the naira and the newly-introduced withdrawal limits. It also faulted the attempt to arrest the CBN governor, describing it as disturbing.
The assembly also called on Nigerians to support the apex bank chief’s policies which it argued are for the betterment of the country.
