•We need ‘hard cash’ to prosecute elections ― lawmakers
Leon Usigbe – Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has insisted that the cashless policy and naira swap being implemented by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) have short and long-term benefits for the country in dealing with insecurity and corruption.
Speaking at the Presidential Villa, Abuja on Thursday when he received a briefing from members of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on cashless policy and Naira Swap, he conceded that the apex bank needs to take the recommendation of a parliamentary Committee to rectify identified problems.
The President spoke against the backdrop of the assurance given by the CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, that N200 currency notes taken out of circulation will be moved back from today.
The President said his nationwide broadcast earlier in the day was comprehensive enough and adequate as 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 lessening of kidnappings and associated corrupt practices, accusing banks of being a problem.
The CBN Governor, as directed by the President, explained that the cashless policy is a global policy, noting: “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.
Emefiele expressed optimism that the problems he described as “temporary, passing” will go away in no distant future.
He reported that he had met 15 top banks earlier in the day in an effort to resolve prevailing problems and will do so again later in the evening, with assurances that “we are at the end of the problem.”
The apex bank boss also promised that by the end of February, CBN will bring into circulation between N700-N800 billion, well in excess of what is needed to run the economy.
He emphasized that it is not possible to put back more than N3 trillion if the economy is to be healthy.
Emefiele also pledged that the CBN will not be a problem with elections, assuring that they will hold successfully as far as the bank is concerned.
The leader of the parliamentary delegation, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, the House Majority Leader and Chairman of the Ad-Hoc Committee said the meeting with the President was necessitated by the need to bring him up to date on the “problems of implementation and unintended consequences” of the new cash policy.”
In acknowledging the far-reaching quality of the President’s broadcast to the nation earlier today, the House Leader said the legislature and the government are on the same page in so far as the goals of the policy were concerned.
He added, however, that more needed to be done to remove the “hardship and inconveniences” that have attended its implementation.
Fielding questions from correspondents after the meeting, Doguwa said that going into the election without “hard cash” will put members of the National Assembly at a disadvantage irrespective of the political party they belong.
He affirmed that each member of the House of Representatives is entitled to N70 million cash to pay polling agents and for other election running costs, saying that if they have no hard cash, they will be disadvantaged in the exercise.
Doguwa explained that his committee was mandated by the House and by extension, the National Assembly, to interface with the president and the CBN on the implementation of the policy.
He said that even though most of what they wanted to discuss with the president had been taken care of by his broadcast earlier in the day, especially the extension of the validity of the old N200 notes, there is a need to do more to ensure that his directive to the apex bank to make the money available, is carried out immediately.
He said: “Now that the President has issued the directive, how do we ensure that the president’s directive is being carried out on the ground.
“This is what we came to iron out today. No matter how professional a policy is, it is counterproductive if it induces suffering on Nigerians.”
The meeting was also attended by the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele; Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba; representatives of the Minister of Finance and Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF) among others.
