Emefiele Flouts CBN Act – Speaker Gbajabiamila

The Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, said the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has failed to comply with the CBN Act.

According to Gbajabiamila, under Emefiele, the central bank has not been engaging with the National Assembly on its monetary policies or seeking approvals as directed by Section 8 of the CBN Act. 

He made this known on Thursday during the plenary session that had CBN deputy governor, Financial System Stability, Aisha Ahmad, explain the reason for the cash withdrawal limit policy.

“It was not optional; it is obligatory of the CBN under Section 8 of the CBN Act to brief this House on your monetary policies. There is a reason that provision is in the law. That was not done. 

“It took the prompting of the House, not once, not twice but three times to have the CBN come for this briefing that we are not even asking for. It is an obligatory briefing under the CBN Act, Section 8,” Gbajabiamila said. 

Speaking on the timeframe of the naira redesign and implementation, Gbajabiamila said the Bank of England gave the country two years notice before introducing new notes that have King Charles on them, however, the central bank gave a three-month deadline.

Gbajabiamila said, “I want to address the issue of – although you may say the horse has left the stable – the redesigning of the naira. All your policies may be of good intentions, but they say the road to hell is sometimes paved with good intentions. 

“We are aware of the Bank of England, we are aware of the US. Just recently, the Bank of England changed their notes to the King Charles notes, and the bank made a publication that it would not come into effect until 2024. In other words, they gave a year’s notice in a cashless society. 

“How then can we rationalise two, three months’ notice in a ‘cashfull’ society? And not only do they give that kind of notice, in the United States, and in other places, even when the law or the policy takes effect, you are allowed to continue to use the old notes at the same time until it is completely phased out. So, these are questions that are begging for answers.”