Governors, Emefiele to meet as Nigerians split over Naira redesign, withdrawal limits

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, and the governors of the 36 states will meet on Thursday over the redesigned naira notes and the apex bank’s withdrawal policy.

The spokesman for the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Abdulrazaque Bello-Barkindo, disclosed this in a statement posted on Facebook Wednesday.

The CBN had in October last year announced the redesign of N1,000, N500, and N200 notes.

It also set January 31 as the deadline for the withdrawal of old Naira notes from circulation.

With just 12 days before the expiration of the deadline, the two parties will meet to discuss the impact of the redesigned naira notes and the withdrawal policies that had generated mixed reactions in the country.

The governors had also been divided over the redesign of the Naira notes and daily withdrawal cuts with Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, in a chat with journalists last month blaming the rising poverty in Nigeria on such policies.

READ ALSO: Embattled CBN boss, Emefiele, to head apex bank’s MPC meeting

He said: “Look at the one that is about to be implemented by the Central Bank which would further throw the country into poverty.

“Nobody is saying the economy shouldn’t be cashless. Take time and do it systematically. We shouldn’t do it as if some people wanted to be politicians and they were denied the opportunity, then they use their office to punish the politicians.”

However, his Katsina State counterpart, Aminu Masari defended the initiatives.

He said: “It will help the economy. Now, all the money has not been in the banking sector. The CBN governor said that they have mopped over One trillion Naira (N1 trillion) into the banking sector which was starched in soak-ways and other places.”

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