The Senate witnessed a rowdy session on Wednesday as the upper legislative chamber discussed a motion on the Naira Redesign Policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which was moved by the Chairman of its Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Senator Uba Sani.
In the prayers to his motion, Sani urged the Senate to provide legislative support for the policy, and that his committee be mandated to embark on aggressive oversight on the matter.
He urged the Senate to support the CBN redesign policy, including the 31st January deadline for compliance.
Senators Ali Ndume, Abiodun Olujimi, Betty Apiafi, Barau Jibrin, Chukwuka Utazi and Orji Kalu supported the policy but suggested the extension of the deadline for compliance.
Kalu specifically wanted the Senate to invite the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele to shed more light on the policy, praying that he should be persuaded to extend the deadline to 30th April next year.
But Senator Gabriel Suswam disagreed with Kalu and others, claiming that the CBN governor had always shunned the Senate invitations.
He urged his colleagues to ignore the CBN policy and let the country damn the consequences.
In his submission, Senator Bassey Akpan stressed the importance of supporting the CBN governor, and that there was no need to discuss the matter.
Suswam and Akpan’s submissions did not go down well with those seeking the extension to the deadline, which led to a rowdy session at plenary.
It took the persistent appeals by the presiding officer and Deputy Senate President, Senator Ovie Omo-Agege, to bring calm to the floor after 10 minutes of intense arguments.
Ndume had earlier said there were only five banks in the 27 local government areas of Borno State since the insurgency started in the state.
Olujimi also said one-and-a-half month was too short to withdraw all the money in circulation to avoid shutting down the economy.
She said that the Senate should invite the CBN governor for further explanation on the issue.
She disageed that counterfeiting was enough reason to change the Naira notes.
She added that the implications of the redesign should be criticality examined given that bandits had said they would be collecting ransom in foreign currencies if the Naira notes were redesigned.
Jibrin said that the Naira redesign could not halt terrorism but could only reduce it.
Utazi said that, because of the rural nature of the country, the Senate leadership should interface with the CBN governor to explain the implications on the peculiarity of the country, adding that the CBN should visit all the rural communities to get first-hand information.
Kalu suggested the extension of the deadline from 31st January to 30th April , adding that the Committee on Banking and Finance should meet with the CBN governor on the matter.
Omo-Agege said that it was the prerogative of the CBN to redesign the Naira and put deadline for compliance.
It also mandated the Senate Committee on Banking and Financial Institutions to go on oversight to ensure that Nigerians were adequately protected from the CBN, banks and other agencies involved in the process.
