JUST IN: Emefiele finally appears before Reps over new naira

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has finally appeared before the House of Representatives which summoned him over the confusion caused by the redesign of some naira notes and the exchange of old naira notes with new ones.

JUST IN: Emefiele finally appears before Reps over new naira .

Emefiele is appearing before the ad hoc committee set up by the House to investigate the crisis, which is chaired by Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa.
Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, was to issue a warrant for Emefiele’s arrest over his repeated failures to answer at least four summons from the House.
The House had shelved its plan to go on break for the presidential and National Assembly elections, which was to commence on Thursday, over the CBN governor’s failure to answer the last summons issued to him by the committee.
Gbajabiamila had threatened to mandate the Inspector-General of Police, Usman Baba, to arrest and force his appearance before the panel, insisting that the deadline breached the provision of Section 20(3) of the CBN Act. The speaker said in part, “Now I have no choice. When we resume work on Tuesday, we will refer to Article 89 of the Constitution. The president was very clear. The president gave his approval based on what he knew and what he had heard.
“We also know that the president is a man of the people. He agreed based on what he was told. But we’re talking about how that money goes to the people after the president agrees, as the proposal says. Money doesn’t reach people. This is what we are trying to be clear about and this is what we are trying to do.

Therefore, on Tuesday, this House will follow its own procedure (normal procedure) and apply Article 89 to force the CBN President and Director.”

Vice Speaker Ahmed Wase also urged the House of Representatives to allow the leadership to meet with Major General (retired) President Muhammadu Buhari to explain the implementation of the controversial policy, which the Speaker agreed to.

Though the CBN, on Sunday, extended the deadline on the expiration of the old N1,000, N500 and N200 noted by 10 days – from January 31 to February 10, with the Deposit Money Banks (commercial banks) allowed to accept the notes by seven days more, the House had insisted on Emefiele’s appearance.
Ado-Doguwa, in a statement titled ‘Old Naira Notes: House C’ttee Rejects CBN Extension, Says Position of Law Sacrosanct, Must Be Respected,’ insisted that the apex bank must comply with Sections 20(3), (4) and (5) of the CBN Act.
“Nigeria, as a developing economy and a nascent democracy, must respect the principles of the rule of law. And the House would go ahead to sign the arrest warrant to compel the CBN governor to appear before the ad hoc committee,” the Majority Leader stated.
Emefiele, however, led the leadership of the CBN to appear before the lawmakers on Tuesday.
Cumulatively, Emefiele has failed to answer summons from the House at least four times within two months.
The House had on December 22, 2022, grilled the Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Central Bank of Nigeria, Aisha Ahmad, over the latest policy by the apex bank which, among others, sets limits to cash withdrawals at the Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions.
The House had summoned Emefiele but he failed to appear in the two previous appointments with the lawmakers. The CBN had informed the House that Emefiele would not appear before the House in person, rather Ahmad would lead the Committee of Governors before the lawmakers.
Emefiele had also failed to answer two summons from the House’ ad hoc committee to investigate the scarcity of the new naira at the Deposit Money Banks, also known as commercial banks, leading to tension over the January 31 deadline set by the CBN for the exchange of the old notes with the newly designed ones.