Naira redesign: Governors summon Emefiele over policy
Naira redesign: Governors summon Emefiele over policy
The governors of the 36 states have summoned the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and Governor, Godwin Emefiele, over the withdrawal policy and the redesigned naira notes.
The governors, under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, through its spokesperson, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, in a statement on Tuesday, stated that the planned meeting would be held on Thursday.
The governors under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum through its spokesperson, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, in a statement Tuesday night said the governors would exchange ideas with Emefiele on “the economic and security implications of the current withdrawal policy and naira redesign.
On October 26, 2022, the CBN disclosed its decision to redesign the naira notes and subsequently directed Nigerians to change their naira notes from the banks on or before January 31, 2023.
According to the statement, the invitation to the CBN Governor was issued by Aminu Tambuwal, chairman of the Forum and governor of Sokoto.
For the virtual meeting, the agenda is titled “The Economic and Security implications of naira redesign and withdrawal policy.”
The NGF also said the discussion promises to foster participation and dialogue between various stakeholders including governments and civil society organizations “to come out with a solution to the lingering issue.”
Naira redesign: Governors summon Emefiele over policy
The invitation comes months after the apex bank announced plans to redesign the 100, 200, 500, and 1,000 notes which are already in circulation. The CBN has said the old notes will go out of circulation by the end of January.
The move, Mr. Emefiele said, is aimed at having control of the currency in circulation, managing inflation, and tackling counterfeiting.
In November, the CBN also announced a limit on cash withdrawals made by individuals and organizations with effect from January 9, 2023.
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The bank directed that over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities do not exceed N100, 000 and N500,000, respectively, per week. It also directed that only N200 and lower denominations should be loaded into banks’ ATMs.
The CBN said the maximum cash withdrawal per week via ATM should be N100,000 subject to a maximum of N20,000 cash withdrawal per day.
The policy generated mixed reactions among Nigerians. While some described the new policy as politically motivated, others lamented that the timeline was short.