Speaker Gbajabiamila recalled that the CBN governor was invited to brief the House as dictated by the extant laws of the Federation on new monetary policies, as it affects the new Cashless policy and the redesigned notes while he introduced the representatives of the CBN governor, Aisha Ahmad, a deputy governor in charge of Financial Systems Stability and other members of the Committee of the Governors to the lawmakers.
He said the House will take her briefing while the members would ask questions thereafter.
The deputy governor, Ahmad in her presentation explained the reasons behind the Cashless policy, its introduction, the response to the policy by Nigerians, challenges faced over the policy as well as the redesigned notes and the Cash Withdrawal Limit policy.
She said however admitted that due to the feedback from Nigerians and the intervention of the House on the cash withdrawal limit, the CBN has reversed the policy and increased the withdrawal limit significantly.
She also admitted that the apex bank could do better in its engagements with the House of Representatives on the need to inform the legislature about new monetary policies while revealing that 500 million pieces of the new notes were minted by the bank for the takeoff of the naira redesign policy.
Lawmakers took the CBN deputy governor up on the effects of the cash withdrawal limit on Nigerians in the rural areas who make their transactions mainly in cash but where the penetration of banking, power and telecommunication infrastructures are low.
The steps taken by the bank to check counterfeiting of the new notes, sensitization of Nigerians and the likely negative effects of the cash withdrawal limit policy on the informal economy.
The issue of the menace of online fraud, the fate of Nigerians in the diaspora and the duration of the policy were also raised by rhe lawmakers.
In his closing remarks, Speaker Gbajabiamila noted that the House will meet and deliberate over the briefing while restating that it is not optional but a statutory obligation of the CBN governor to brief the House on new policies of the bank.
He, however, admonished that going forward, the law must henceforth be respected by the bank."
The statement from CBN read thus.
Culled from the Plenary Proceedings of the House of Representatives for Thursday December 22,2022 and The CBN press release respectively.
Tags
News