A CIVIL Society Organisation (CSO), Resource Centre for Human Rights and Civic Education (CHRICED), has demanded the reversal of the cash withdrawal policy introduced by the  Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In a statement released by the Executive Director, Ibrahim Zikirullahi, on Wednesday, December 14, CHRICED said the CBN took a hasty and ill-conceived decision that will impact negatively on the livelihood of Nigerians.

“Given the predicted impacts of the policy on the economy, lives and livelihoods of Nigerians, it is evident that the CBN has once again acted in a hasty and ill-conceived manner.

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“In a country where the vast majority of people struggle to earn a living in the informal sector, the policy to restrict cash withdrawals amounts to an attempt to impoverish even more citizens.”

The CSO added that majority of Nigerians, who are poor and unbanked, would be worst hit by the policy as they cannot afford smartphones which seem to be the only common means to engage in digital transactions.

The group noted that major Nigerian cities are daily experiencing epileptic power supply, adding that the cost of running generators is extremely high due to incessant fuel scarcity being experienced across the country.

“A country with mass illiteracy and millions of unbanked citizens, which continues to face infrastructure challenges such as erratic power supply and low Internet penetration, cannot simply wake up one morning and force everyone to adopt a cashless system that lacks the necessary infrastructure.

“In many far-flung rural communities, which are cut off from all trappings of modernity, a policy like this would be the source of untold suffering and starvation,” the statement observed.

Commenting on the recent National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report that indicated that 133 million Nigerians live in multidimensional poverty, CHRICED tasked government institutions to adopt policies that will stimulate the economy and enrich the citizens.

“Indeed, in a country where millions of citizens are still reeling from the devastating economic realities imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of livelihoods and jobs, it defies belief that a government unable to provide any form of economic stimulus would even consider an idea that would result in more people losing their jobs.

“It is disheartening that the CBN does not care about the millions of people whose livelihoods will be destroyed as a result of the apex bank’s rash and harebrained experimentation.

“It is strange and completely repugnant that a government that implemented policies that pushed millions of Nigerians into the trap of poverty would be hell-bent on pushing through harsher policy options.”

Expressing concerns over the plight of Nigerians, the group raised the alarm that the policy would empower banks to continue fleecing Nigerians through arbitrary charges and deductions.

CHRICED further urged the apex bank to channel the focus of the policy on those who make suspicious cash withdrawals and not ordinary Nigerians.

Citing Section 16 (1) of the 1999 Constitution, CHRICED described the policy as a breach of the Constitution and “an attempt to rob Nigerians and put their proceeds in the vaults of banks which contribute nothing in terms of supporting the real sector of the economy”.