Meets CBN, Reps Committee, Others
About N800bn To Be In Circulation Before February Ends, Says Emefiele
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take note of the recommendations by the Ado Doguwa-led House of Representatives ad-hoc Committee on Naira Redesign, Cashless Policy and Currency Swap, to rectify identified problems with the new monetary policy.
Buhari, who gave the task on Thursday, February 16, when he received briefing from members of the Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, however, insisted that the CBN naira swap process and the cashless policy have short and long-term benefits for the country in dealing with insecurity and corruption.
According to a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, the President said his speech earlier in the day was comprehensive enough and a response to the general outcry about the problems associated with the currency exchange.
He described the aim of the policy as “very good, security-wise,” as seen from the reduction in the number of reported cases of kidnappings and associated corrupt practices, even as he once again accused commercial banks of being a problem.
His comment came as CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, gave him an assurance that N200 currency notes taken out of circulation would be returned into circulation from Thursday, February 16, promising that by the end of the month, the apex band would have brought between N700billion and N800 billion into circulation, well in excess of what is needed to run the economy, insisting that it is not possible to re-inject over N3trillion if the economy is to be healthy.
The CBN governor, as directed by the President, explained that the cashless policy was a global policy, saying: “Nigeria must go cashless. It is a global policy, checking insecurity and fighting corruption.”
He added that senior officers at the CBN had all been sent out, complimented by “super agents,” to take new currencies to unbanked rural populations, expressing optimism that the “temporary, passing” problems would go away in no distant future.
Speaking after the meeting, Emefiele revealed that he had met 15 top banks earlier in the day in an effort to resolve prevailing problems and would do so again later in the evening, appealing to Nigerians to be patient with the process, as the current pains would soon ease off.
He stated: “Well, the truth is that we are all servants; we’re serving Nigerians. As far as I’m concerned, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) has spoken on this matter and the President has sealed the whole of the issue this morning in his broadcast.
“I think I can only just appeal to Nigerians to allow this policy to work. This policy is one policy that goes to solve the problem of reducing corruption and illicit financial flows. This policy goes to resolve some of the problems in the economy. This policy also goes to reducing the level of insecurity in the country. So, these three issues, which are the tripod of this administration’s policy, are all embedded in this policy. We should just allow it to work.
“We keep saying this, there are some temporary pains, but I can assure Nigerians that the long run benefit to Nigeria is overwhelming and we should just give it a chance to work.
“The President has given his directives, I have met with about 15 banks this morning and we’ve given them directives about how they should make all the old N200 available, effective today, and I can assure Nigerians that this will help to reduce the pains.
“We meet with bankers at least once daily to get feedback and the rest of them and I think we should just allow this policy work. The temporary pains are regrettable, but I can assure Nigerians that it will be well.”
He gave a firm promise that the apex bank would not be a problem with elections, saying they will hold successfully, as far as the CBN was concerned.
