More voices yesterday spoke out vehemently against the currency redesign swap policy despite appeals for an extension as citizens grow angry over the rejection of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes ahead of the January 31 deadline.
The Central Bank of Nigeria’s governor, Godwin Emefiele, and his management team were issued a Riot Act yesterday by the House of Representatives, requesting that they postpone the January 31 deadline for changes to the cash withdrawal limit and cash exchange policy.
Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, the chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee looking into the policy, made this statement while informing the members of the CBN management’s inability to attend the hearing.
Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, the chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee looking into the policy, made this statement while informing the members of the CBN management’s inability to attend the hearing.
Ado-Doguwa cautioned that the House will not accept any justifications for the invited public office holders’ absence on the revised date, which is today (Thursday) by 1:00 pm, even though the CBN Governor and other Directors are employed by Nigerians.
The legislator stated that the policy, which he called “unpopular,” needed to be reviewed because it had a bad impact on businesses, Nigerians all over the nation, and the ability to pay for services with old naira notes.
The House leadership revealed on Monday that they would meet with the apex bank’s management and the Bankers Committee. Speaking about the CBN executives’ incapacity to appear before it, Ado-Doguwa stated that the CBN had communicated that the bank had received the letter of invitation too late to act on it.
He claims that the House won’t accept any more justifications since the cashless policy’s problems, which hurt both the national economy and Nigerians in general, needs to be addressed.
Additionally, the House rescheduled its discussion with the heads of commercial banks for Friday (tomorrow).