Controversies surrounding the January 31 deadline fixed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for citizens to swap old currency notes for the redesigned naira took a new dimension, Thursday, with Speaker House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila threatening to issue a warrant of arrest against the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele for failing to honour the Green Chamber’s invitation.
The House had, Tuesday, constituted an Ad-hoc committee to intervene for a possible extension of the deadline, following which the CBN management and chief executive officers of all the commercial banks in Nigeria were invited.
However, the CBN team failed to appear before the panel Wednesday, citing late receipt of the communication.
Also Thursday at the resumed hearing of the committee headed by the House Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the CBN did not send any representation.
And upon listening to the committee’s briefing on failure of the CBN to appear before the panel, Speaker Gbajabiamila said: “This is unacceptable.
“The Resolution of the House was predicated on information showing that the rollout of the redesigned naira notes has been an unmitigated failure. This failure has real and dire consequences on the ability of Nigerians to conduct business across the country. The refusal by the CBN to heed the invitation by the House of Representatives is evidence of a blatant disregard for the well-being of the Nigerian people who are their customers. It is also an insult to the authority and prerogatives of the people’s parliament.
“Therefore, I will, pursuant to the authority conferred by Section 89 (1)(d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Order 19 (2)(1) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, not hesitate to issue a warrant to the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force to compel the attendance of the CBN or Managing Directors who fail, refuse or neglect to respond to the summons by the House of Representatives.
“The House of Representatives recognises the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) authority to determine the country’s legal tender and to recall currency with reasonable notice, subject to the approval of the President. The House is also aware that Section 20 (3) of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act mandates the CBN to redeem the face value of the recalled currency upon demand, even after the expiration of the notice of recall. Notwithstanding the deadline imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), this House will see to it that this provision of the law is honoured in full.”
Bank executives
Meanwhile, representatives of the money deposit banks who appeared before the committee, disclosed that they were only allowed by CBN directive, to distribute the redesigned notes of N200, N500 and N1,000 through their respective Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), and not across the counter withdrawals, in line with the guidelines issued them by the apex bank.
The banks also explained to the committee that only a fraction of the value of the old notes they collected and deposited with the CBN was given them in the new notes.
For instance, Mohammed Abdul of Lotus Bank said: “We have been receiving the new notes. However, in the last few weeks, it has been insufficient. We’re getting an average of N40 million weekly, and that’s insufficient, while representative of the Guarantee Trust Bank disclosed that in its Abuja operational area, the bank got about 60 percent of its deposit, and the figures vary from city to city.”
Also, Mr. Femi Bamigboye of Sun Trust Bank said the bank gets an average of N100 million worth of the new notes weekly, representing about 80 percent of what it deposited, while Shehu Aliyu of the First Bank was not handy with the figures, and was given 24 hours to furnish the committee secretariat with the details.
Other banks represented at the meeting were Ecobank, WEMA, Fidelity, Heritage, Unity Bank, UBA, Sterling Bank and Jaiz Bank.
Earlier in his remarks, Doguwa explained that the assignment of the committee was fact-finding in view of the plethora of complaints received across the country with just days to the deadline fixed by the CBN.
“We need to get the facts, especially when there are conflicting statements, CBN said it has issued enough new notes, and the banks are saying no. Nobody is against changing the legal tender, but how to go about it is the concern,” he said.
The committee’s report is expected to be laid and adopted next Tuesday, and it is yet unclear if the House would issue the arrest warrant as threatened, against the CBN Governor.
