NAIRA REDESIGN: Reps threaten to issue arrest warrant for CBN Gov, Emefiele, banks MDs

The failure of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, to appear before the House of Representatives over the ongoing furore on the redesigned Naira notes mandate has irked its leadership.

This was deduced from the statement issued on Thursday by the Reps Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, in Abuja.

Emefiele had failed to appear before an ad-hoc committee led by the Majority Leader, Rep. Alhassan Ado Doguwa, in order to explain reasons for the ongoing failure to adequately disburse the redesigned naira notes before the expiration of the deadline of 31st January 2023, when the old notes would cease to be legal tender.

In the statement, Gbajabiamila revealed that Emefiele’s disposition to the situation “is evidence of a blatant disregard for the well-being of the Nigerian people who are their customers. It is also an insult to the authority and prerogatives of the people’s parliament” while noting that “no official of the CBN appeared to respond to the summons by the House of Representatives.

“This is unacceptable. The Resolution of the House was predicated on information showing that the rollout of the redesigned naira notes has been an unmitigated failure. This failure has real and dire consequences on the ability of Nigerians to conduct business across the country,” the Speaker said.

Read also:Scarcity of new Naira notes causes panic, Reps to meet with CBN officials today

Consequently, he intimated that the Lower Chamber will “not hesitate to issue a warrant to the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force to compel the attendance of the CBN or Managing Directors who fail, refuse or neglect to respond to the summons by the House of Representatives” in accordance with “the authority conferred by Section 89 (1)(d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Order 19 (2)(1) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives.”

The statement further read, “The House of Representatives recognises the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) authority to determine the country’s legal tender and to recall currency with reasonable notice, subject to the approval of the President.

“The House is also aware that Section 20 (3) Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act mandates the CBN to redeem the face value of the recalled currency upon demand, even after the expiration of the notice of recall. Notwithstanding the deadline imposed by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN), this House will see to it that this provision of the law is honoured in full.”

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