Wetin CBN govnor tok afta lawmakers criticise new cash withdrawal limit policy

Di Govnor of di Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, don tok say dem no go cancel dia policy on di reduction of cash withdrawal limit wey dem go implement next year January.

Emefiele yarn dis one on Thursday afta im visit to President Muhammadu Buhari for Daura, Katsina State.

Di apex bank oga dey react to di House of Representatives wey criticise di policy and summon Emefiele to come ansa questions about am next week Thursday.

Emefiele tell tori pipo say di CBN no bring out di policy to hurt anybodi as e tok say dem suppose don introduce am since but dem postpone am sake of di tins dem dey put in place.

“I dey aware say dem ask for some briefings and we go brief dem. But I tink say e dey important for me to say di cashless policy start for 2012.

“But on almost three to four occasions, we bin need to step down di policy sake of say we feel say need dey to prepare ourselves and deepen our payment system infrastructure for Nigeria.

“Between 2012 and now 2022, almost 10 years, we believe say a lot of electronic channels don dey in place wey go help pipo in conducting banking and financial service transactions for Nigeria,” im tok.

According to di CBN govnor, dem design di policy to strengthen di economy.

'We fit increase or reduce di limit'

Di Central Bank oga go on to say wetin fit happun be say di cash withdrawal limit fit go up or dem go fit reduce am. But on di question of cancelling di policy or changing di timing, e say dat one no go happun.

E appeal to Nigerians to embrace di policy as e say di CBN go monitor di situation and no go dey rigid ontop di policy.

Di CBN say from 9 January 2022, na N100,000 individuals go fit withdraw ova di counter per week while companies no go fit withdraw more dan N500,000.

'New CBN policy go affect small businesses'

Di House of Representatives order di suspension of di cash withdrawal limits by di CBN afta resolution during plenary on Thursday.

Dem decide to summon di CBN govnor afta a motion of mata of urgent public importance wey Aliyu Magaji (APC Jigawa) move on Thursday during plenary.

Di House say make di CBN suspend di implementation of di policy until dem conclude dia probe.

For di motion wey e move, Magaji say small businesses wey be major drivers of di economy, dey depend on cash for transactions.

E say dis small business owners go feel di negative effect of di new CBN policy.

Magaji say although di CBN get di statutory power to implement monetary policy, di policy go get negative impact on di economy.

Breaking...@HouseNGR, through a resolution, invites @cenbank Governor @GodwinIEmefiele to appear before the House on Thursday 15th December 2022 at 11 am to shed light on the newly proposed naira redesign and withdrawal limit policies.

— House of Reps NGR (@HouseNGR) December 8, 2022

Port Harcourt-based business analyst Ignatius Chukwu say di new policy na to check rigging and for security

"I see dis Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) review of withdrawal limit as Part B of di Naira design policy wey di CBN earlier bring out, Chukwu tok. 

E say dis go further make pipo embrace di cashless policy as e no affect internet banking and di cashless economy. 

Chukwu observe say for 1984, President Muhammadu Buhari den as Head of State, bin do a similar policy wey bring in most of di money wey bin dey in circulation and also do a second policy of small-small release of money just like dis two policies CBN dey plan. 

E add say dis dey mostly target mega cash owners as di ordinary man for street no need up to N100,000 cash a week.

"Dis policy no affect electronic transfers, na cash movement e target and cash movement go dey needed during elections so e show say na di election period be di main target."

Ignatius Chukwu add say e go also help security especially with paying ransom to kidnappers as dem prefer cash payments as opposed to transfers wey go make am easy to trace and track dem.

"So you see say to raise money to pay kidnappers - weda for naira or dollars go dey very difficult.

Den to buy large votes, you go need hundreds of millions so I suspect say di policy dey look at some large-scale cash users." E tok.