Amid the currency scarcity agony of Nigerians, a bank presented N500 million new Naira notes to a state governor, according to Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai.
According to the new policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), a weekly withdrawal limit of N100,000 and N500,000 respectively is placed personal and corporate accounts. In exceptional cases, a maximum of N5 million is however allowed to be accessed in a personal account and N10 million for corporate account.
el-Rufai told BBC Hausa on Friday: “Yesterday, I was told that one of our governors got N500 million in new notes from the bank. It was the bank that gave him”.
The governor said that the 10-day extension given by the CBN was not enough as more time was required. The regulatory bank moved the initial 31 January deadline for the swapping of old N200, N500 and N1,000 to the new ones to 10 February.
“What of the average man on the street selling tomatoes and trying to survive? That is why I have said that the 10-day extension is not enough. We want months of extension.
“There is nowhere in the world that currency exchange doesn’t happen but they don’t give limited time such as this one for currency swap and definitely not close to elections”, el-Rufai argued.
According to the governor, politicians, who are targets of the Naira redesign policy, already have their way.
CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele had claimed that the policy was targeted at curbing voting buying ahead of the 2023 general elections. He said that the Naira redesign policy would also curb terrorism and kidnapping.
el-Rufai, however, countered that some of these politicians that are being targeted own a bank.
He said,“It is not wrong to change currencies. Every country does but you can not change it at this season of elections and given this limited time, where in this world has that ever happened?
“Politicians and big businessmen who are targeted by the policy have their ways of accessing the new notes, some of them own the banks, but what of poor, petty traders?
“All APC (All Progressives Congress) governors met on the issue, we saw how people suffer, we support the change of currency but time should be extended to months.
“We said let CBN, banks managers and we governors sat and discussed the issue, let’s work together and have a proper plan on how to go about it, we should have plans to follow people to their homes, villages and change the notes for them but not forcing them to go to banks which take some of them a hundred kilometres.
“I tell you this change does not affect politicians, they have their money and they are prepared, they know how to access the new notes, it is poor don’t have ways, even yesterday we were told one of the governors was given 500 millions of the new notes”.
BAMGBELU ADENIYI AKINYEMI
4 February 2023 at 4:40 am
I expect by now, the CBN governor should have resigned. Besides I blame the President who tolerated him ever since his dabbling into politics and wanting to contest as a presidential candidate as a card carrying member of APC despite the CBN ACT contrary regulations.
No douth, he has compromised. He has plunge the economy of the country upside down. The President should retire him immediately.