The just-announced cash withdrawal policy published by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, will be the subject of a motion that the Senate will be discussing next week.
The legislators will be expected to draft and pass resolutions either endorsing or condemning the policy. As of January 9, the CBN will limit the amount of cash that individuals and organizations can withdraw.
The apex bank had directed that the weekly limits on over-the-counter cash withdrawals for both people and businesses will be at N100,000 and N500,000 respectively, while also stipulating that only N200 notes and lesser notes be inserted into bank ATMs.
Also, there is to be a weekly cap of N100,000 on the amount of cash that can be withdrawn from an ATM, with a daily limit of N20,000.
Some senators voiced reservations about the new policy during plenary on Wednesday, expressing worry that many Nigerians will suffer as a result
Philip Aduda, the Senate Minority Leader, raised a point over the new policy plenary on Wednesday, December 8 over the matter and asked his colleagues to consider it. But the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, had interrupted him and stated that it was too soon to discuss the policy.
Lawan, however, had urged that a motion be brought forth for discussion next week since the manner the CBN is implementing the policy would frustrate many Nigerians, and it would not be acceptable.
He then additionally ordered the committee on Banking, Insurance, and other Financial Institutions, to thoroughly screen the newly nominated deputy governors for the CBN bank, to grill the nominees on the latest policy.
