Emergency Session Is Constitutional, Can Be Conduct By Representatives – Gbajabiamila

Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila has said the Green Chamber will have no choice but to reconvene ahead of the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25 if the Central Bank of Nigeria fails to do something to the hardships Nigerians face because of their currency exchange policies.

Gbajabiamila noted that the House will continue to closely monitor the CBN’s implementation of the policy, following the Green Chamber’s meeting with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele on the matter.

In a statement released on Sunday by the special adviser to media and publicity speaker Lanre Lasisi, Gbajabiamila was quoted as having made this known at a town hall meeting with some ethnic groups in Surulere, Lagos.

The statement was titled ‘Currency Swap: We will meet again before the elections if… – Gbajabiamila… says Tinubu stands with Nigerians.’

Emefiele had finally appeared before the House last Tuesday over the crisis caused by the redesign of some naira notes and the exchange of old naira notes with new ones by the populace.

The CBN governor had appeared before the House ad hoc committee on the central bank of Nigeria’s cashless policy and the extension of the time frame of the currency swap, where he said the top bank hopes the naira will strengthen with the implementation of the policy.

Emefiele had said in part, “Subject to the contents of the CBN Act, Section 20(3), which says that even after the old currency loses its legal tender status; that we are mandated to collect those funds, I support the House of Representatives in this.

“What does that mean? It could have lost its legal tender status, in which case we moved on, but you got your money you couldn’t send to the bank.

“We will definitely give you the chance to get them back in the CBN; you are going to redeem it, you pay into your bank account or you want to make (an) exchange, you have not lost your money.

“That is the assurance I want to give to the Nigerians. I want to appeal: this is not an easy exercise, but we are pleased to be able to carry out this important aspect of our mandate in 19 years.”

The House, like the Senate, had adjourned the plenary session to February 28 to allow members to participate in the election campaign towards the polls.

According to the statement, the speaker recalled being about to sign an arrest warrant for Emefiele due to the CBN governor’s initial failure to appear before a House ad hoc panel.

Gbajabiamila said: “The House of Representatives intervened several times. We summoned the CBN Governor the first time, but he refused to answer because we had many difficult questions for him.

“Only when I threatened with an arrest warrant did he come. And I would have signed that warrant; it would have been the first time in National Assembly history that a CBN governor would be arrested. I would have.

“Many have discussed the independence of CBN – the autonomy of CBN.

“With that, CBN is not above the law. The Constitution gives the House the power to issue an arrest warrant against anyone; we can summon anyone and that was exactly what the House was going to do until the CBN governor came.

“So we’re watching it, and we’re watching it closely. If necessary, we will convene the House again. Even though we’ve all been gone for our elections. I’ll call the Chamber back if necessary.’

The speaker also said amid the ongoing hardship in the country that All Progressives Congress presidential candidate Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has identified with Nigerians.

He added that the ex-governor of Lagos state had also criticized the implementation of the policy by the CBN, which he said necessitated the extension of the deadline for collecting the old naira banknotes.

Gbajabiamila said, “About the currency swap, let me explain something to you: we are all very intelligent people.

“Many are suffering, we have paid your salary and you cannot take it; people can’t eat, what is that? But I have news for you.

“There is one man who is running for president of this country, and that man has courage and daring.

“This man boldly came out and identified the problem, that the fifth columnists, in conjunction with the PDP, are the ones trying to sabotage these elections.

“Many have said that he is talking about Buhari, but he told them ‘no, I am not talking about Buhari; I’m talking about Fifth Columnists.’ If you don’t know the meaning of the fifth columnists, check your dictionary.

“Fifth columnists infiltrate people; they even infiltrate families, how else do you explain this kind of policy?

“The president, the compassionate person that he is, has asked for a few more days to review everything that is going on and see if anything can change. We pray that things will change.

“If nothing changes, we will intervene again. But be sure of one thing; Bola Ahmed Tinubu stands beside you and assists Nigerians in their suffering. He was the first to shout what’s wrong?

“He has cried, he has begged, he has screamed that people are suffering. What did the PDP candidate say?

“He said, ‘no, CBN doesn’t listen to them; you are not allowed to extend this thing; let people continue to suffer.’ So says the PDP candidate. He said it publicly.

“So you have the story of two presidential candidates: one who stands with the people and says this currency exchange has to stop; the second says: ‘no, it can’t stop, it’s good policy.

“CBN, don’t listen to him. Let the people continue to suffer.’ The rest I leave to you to decide who is for you and who is against you.”

House Majority Leader and Committee Chairman Alhassan Ado-Doguwa had noted that the hearing was designed to address the “concerns of the Nigerian people through the House of Representatives”.

He also noted that it was not a “committee of inquiry” but “a commission of inquiry” designed to communicate with the CBN, find out the facts, and report back to the House.

He said: “Our main concern is for the lives and livelihoods of the Nigerian people. Our main concern is the critical situation of the Nigerian economy.

“The concern of the House of Representatives is about the protection and management of the rule of law under the democratic system.

“This House has the constitutional right by all standards, and under the rules and guidelines of the House we also have the constitutional authority to invite any agency of the government to engage with their officials regarding the policies of the government.

Ado-Doguwa noted that while lawmakers had no doubts about the benefits of a cashless economy, “now when the policies create too many storms in the face of the people — storm the economy, shut down agriculture, shut down transportation, while our constituents cry it out, we are morally obligated to seek clarification from you.

The majority leader added that while the CBN has the power to redesign or issue new naira notes, the question was “why this time?” especially as the country approaches general elections.

He also asked Emefiele to speak on the provision of Section 20(3) of the CBN Act.