THE House of Representatives has kicked against the new policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) which limits cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities.
The lawmakers also summoned CBN governor Godwin Emefiele over the new policy which is scheduled to take effect on January 9, 2023.
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The CBN had on December 7 issued a memo through the Office of the Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, directing all banks and other financial institutions to ensure that weekly cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities do not exceed N100,000 and N500,000, respectively.
The CBN governor is to appear before the lawmakers on Thursday, December 15.
The summons followed a motion of urgent public importance moved by Aliyu Magaji, representing Dange Shuni Constituency, Sokoto, during plenary on Thursday, December 8.
Several lawmakers expressed concerns that the policy would have adverse consequences on businesses and Nigerians who are excluded in the financial system.
The ICIR reported that the Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) also kicked against the policy, saying the N100,000 cash withdrawal limit announced by the CBN will cripple businesses.
Reacting to the policy, Director-General of NECA, Wale-Smatt Oyerinde, in a statement released on Wednesday, December 7, said the CBN did not consider the adverse effects the withdrawal limit will have on the economic activities of Nigerians.
The statement noted that the 5 and 10 per cent processing fees for withdrawals above the new thresholds were “traps” to make money at the expense “of individuals and businesses who desire to withdraw their hard-earned money”.
“As usual with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Bank announced a new naira withdrawal policy without extensive consultation with organised businesses and those that will be directly impacted by the policy. This new policy is diversionary and a mere distraction from the critical issues that are affecting the Nation.
“With the inflation rate hovering around 20 per cent and over 100 million Nigerians in multidimensional poverty, the best that Government should do is not further cripple the economic activities of Nigerians. It is no gainsaying that the livelihood of many individuals and enterprise would be impacted,” the statement added.
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