The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has threatened to issue arrest warrant on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele and some bank directors over their refusal to honour the House’s invite over scarcity of three redesigned naira notes, describing the rollout as an “unmitigated failure.”
Gbajabiamila, in a statement on Thursday, said that shunning the invitation of the House, by the bank chiefs is an “unacceptable” insult to the people’s parliament.
Recall that President Muhammadu Buhari on November 23, 2022 unveiled the redesigned N200, N500 and N1,000 which was announced by the CBN on October 26, 2022.
The apex bank also fixed January 31 deadline for the validity of the old notes and its weekly cash withdrawal limits to N500,000 for individuals and N5m for corporate firms.
Although the Speaker, in his statement on Thursday, said the warrant to be issued would be against the CBN and bank directors but did not expressly mentioned Emefiele the House had at different times in the last two months invited Emefiele over the redesigned notes and the controversies surrounding it but he has not honoured invitations.
The Speaker said, “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 refusal by the CBN to heed the invitation by the House of Representatives 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.
“Therefore, I will, pursuant to 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, 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.”
He noted that the House recognised the 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.”
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.