New cash policy will moderate inflation, stabilize exchange rate, strengthen naira – Emefiele

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, announced on Tuesday that the new cash withdrawal policy has moderated inflation, will help stabilize the exchange rate, strengthen the naira, supporting activities of security agencies and reducing the number of cases of ransom taking the country.

Emefiele, who revealed this during the interactive fact-finding session commissioned by the House of Representatives Ad-Hoc Committee on CBN Cashless Policy Review and Extension of Currency Swap Program Timeframe, argued that the collection of the old notes has successfully reached a 75 percent implementation level in the hinterland, through the 30,000 super agents deployed by the top bank, out of 1.5 million bank agents across the country.

While emphasizing that the new naira draft policy was in the general interest of Nigerians, he assured that no Nigerian will lose money under the new naira draft policy.

The CBN governor who acknowledged the use of the new naira notes at parties confirmed that depository banks had made a mistake in breaching certain aspects of the new policy’s regulations, hence the decision to summon the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) , Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offenses Commission (ICPC) and Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in an effort to ensure the flow of the new currency.

In an effort to ensure effective implementation of the new policy, Mr. Emefiele insisted that the disbursement of the new naira notes can only be suspended through the ATMs to ensure equitable distribution of the redesigned currency .

Speaking about the ongoing efforts to ensure adequate control and monitoring of the currency in accordance with the CBN Act of 2007, he noted that in 2015 the currency in circulation, which amounted to N1.4 trillion, rose to N3.323 trillion in October 2022, with an increase of more than 100 percent within a seven-year period.

He further noted that out of N3.23 trillion, more than N2.37 trillion is outside the banks while more than N2.7 trillion was in people’s homes, adding that about N500 billion can be seen in the banks before the implementation of the new cash policy.

However, he noted that, with the implementation of the new currency policy, the apex bank has been able to collect N1.7 trillion of the N2.7 trillion, leaving between N900 billion and N1 trillion still to be recovered in the apex bank’s vault. .

He said: “We are pleased that so far the exercise has yielded more than 75 percent in our villages and the rest of them. So it’s based on that that we saw that there are a few complaints in the villages and so we said, we’ll now give a 10 day delay to raise more of the currency and then pay out more. I want to make my final comment, subject to section 20 subsection 3 of the CBN Act, which states that even after the old currency has lost its legal tender status, we are authorized to collect that money and I support this the House of Representatives.

“What does that mean? It would have lost its legal tender status, in this case we have moved on, but if we have not been able to send it to the bank, we will certainly give you the option to return them to the CBN to exchange it in. Either you pay to your bank account or you want to exchange, we will give you your money, that is the assurance I give to 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. We are thankful that we are doing this, we want to do this, but we are seeking the support and cooperation of everyone, support and cooperation of Nigerians. In this early stage, there will be a few hiccups, there will be a few hiccups, we apologize.

“What I am trying to say is this the main issues are to make the Nigerian economy stronger, improve the Nigerian economy because that is what we owe Nigerians in the position God has put us in today and I want your support continue, that you want this program to succeed,” the CBN governor said.

After considering the recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee chaired by Hon. Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, the House has mandated the CBN governor to report weekly on all new naira notes released to the depository money banks (DMBs).

The House has also mandated the CBN Governor to ensure that further review of the new naira notes is immediately available.

If the current situation continues, the CBN Governor should extend the deadline beyond February 10, 2023.

Earlier in the interactive session, Hon. Ado-Doguwa said: “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 what we call the rule of law in a democratic system.

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“This House has constitutional law by all standards and under House rules and guidelines we also have the official authority, the constitutional authority to invite any government agency to communicate with their officials about the policies of the government, because the government is about good governance, good governance is about the livelihood of the people.

“What we normally think will be in the interest of the Nigerian man, I mean the common man on the street.

“This is a policy, I want to be very categorical, that has actually touched the lives of our people, it has sparked a lot of controversy left, right and center and we’ve seen that on the faces of our people written , so many people are not giving up 24 to 7 to access the new naira notes. Economic activities, commerce, in fact even online transfer have been halted by this policy you established,” he noted.

While acknowledging that the House supports the top bank’s cashless policies, he noted that the House will see how we can work with you on policies that are right. But if policies come now in the face of too many storms in the face of the people, storming the economy, shutting down agriculture, storming transportation and voters screaming, then of course we have a moral obligation to seek clarification from you.

“According to the CBN law, the governor does indeed have the power to restructure the naira. Yes, it is your unique power and we must help you protect that power for the sake of the Nigerian people.

“However, one of the burning questions is that yes you have the powers, yes you are legally protected to redesign the naira, why this time? This time because you cannot rule out this contemplation that we face when you face a general election, less than 30 days before an election you bring up this issue of this nature. People will definitely ask questions.”