The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has stated that he is prepared to issue a warrant arrest to Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria If he does not appear before its committee on Thursday,
Gbajabiamila stated that the Lawmakers would meet again on Tuesday to take action against Emefiele and other bank executives who fail to appear, as opposed to the House adjourning plenary until February 28 as originally scheduled for the elections.
The Speaker stated that he would not hesitate to request the Inspector-General of Police to effect the CBN governor’s arrest and forceful presence before the House, noting that Emefiele is a friend of his.
The House had formed an ad hoc committee to look into the issue of the new naira being scarce at commercial banks (also known as deposit money banks), which had raised concerns about the CBN’s deadline of January 31 for the replacement of the old notes with the new ones.
Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, the committee’s chairman, informed the House during Thursday’s plenary that the CBN leaders had not appeared before the committee on Wednesday. He mentioned that the committee has moved the meeting to Thursday at 1 PM.
Gbajabiamila did, however, also let the House know that the CBN had written to the Clerk to let them know that Emefiele wouldn’t be able to attend before the committee on Thursday
The Speaker said the House would exercise its powers as contained in Section 89 of the 1999 Constitution.
Gbajabiamila also noted that the CBN Act allows the admittance of an old naira note by banks, even after it had ceased to be legal tender.
The House had on Tuesday called on the President, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over the brewing crisis occasioned by the January 31 deadline.
Apart from asking the CBN to extend the window for swapping the old notes with the newly redesigned one by six months, the House had invited the banks to a meeting on Wednesday over the scarcity of new naira notes.
The Managing Directors/Chief Executive Officers of the banks, under the auspices of the Bankers’ Committee, were to meet with an ad hoc committee of the House to be chaired by the Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa.
The House had particularly resolved that the banks should be invited to explain the alleged supply shortage from the CBN, after which the lawmakers would invite the leadership of the apex bank for questioning.
The House “call on President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene in the insistence of the CBN on the tight deadline for the implementation of the cashless policy and currency swap.”
The lawmakers also urged the CBN to extend the implementation of the cashless policy “to at least six months as well as review the daily withdrawal limit and the charges therefrom.”