Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has threatened to issue a warrant for the arrest of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, for shunning several invitations by the National Assembly on matters related to Nigerians’ difficulty in accessing the newly designed naira notes in the face of a looming deadline.
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On October 26, 2022 the CBN had announced its plan to redesign three banknotes, and fixed January 31, 2023 as deadline for the validity of old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes.
The Legislature had summoned the CBN Governor for dialogue on the matter, but he instead sent subordinate bank directors to the House of Representatives.
One Deputy Director showed up at the House and claimed ignorance of quantity of new notes minted and dispensed.
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In a statement today Thursday, the Speaker said the CBN Governor’s dodging the invitation of the House insulted the Parliament.
“This is unacceptable,” he said.
Apart from inviting Emefiele to proffer reasons for the shortage of the new notes, the House had constituted an ad-hoc committee led by the Majority Leader of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, to wade into the matter.
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.”
Although Gbajabiamila said the House recognised the bank’s authority to determine the country’s legal tender and to recall currency with reasonable notice, upon approval by the President, he submitted that, “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.”
