The House of Representatives has invited the Bankers Committee and the management of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to meet with the leadership of the house on Wednesday January 25, 2023, to explain why the newly designed naira notes are not fully in circulation.
The House also call for the extension of implementation of the swap to six months and make the new notes available.
It also called on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene on the deadline issues by the CBN.
The resolutions was sequel to a motion of Urgent Importance by Honourable Sada Soli on the Need For the CBN to Review and Extend Timeline for Currency Swap.
The lawmaker also called for the review of the cashless policy.
He noted that the CBN was to ensure price stability and that the banks are places where people keep their money for safety.
He agreed that the cashless policy was in tandem with global best practices but the deposit money banks in Nigeria do not have what it take to achieve the policy.
He lamented that the CBN has refused to listen to the cry of people to extend the timeline of the currency swap.
Decline in Economy
“Also worried that as a result of the rigidity in the implementation of the policy, there is a tendency of decline in the economy if cash withdrawals are delayed due to short supply of the new Naira notes; Cognizant that in order for the policy to be successful and acceptable, the should keep their relationship closer to reality, rather than theorized assumptions; Disturbed that coercing the people to accept the new CBN policy within such a timeframe will pose serious monetary challenges and impact negatively on micro economic activities across the country,” the motion said.
That the House also urged the CBN to extend the implementation of the Cashless Policy to at least one year as well as review the daily withdrawal Limit and the charges therefrom.
It also urged the CBN to expedite action on making the redesigned N200, N500
and N1,000 notes available to Nigerians.
According to Honourable Soli, “the rigidity of the policy may affect the economy and therefore the apex bank should keep their policy closer to reality. The policy though good will not be fair on the new government and will impact negatively on Macro economy,”Honourable Soli added.
Confidence Okwuchi
