These, certainly are not the best of times for the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele as the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee is set to arrest him.
The Committee has rejected the 10 days extension granted by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the swap of old N200, N500, N1,000 bank notes.
Chairman of the Committee and the Majority Leader of the House, Alhassan Ado Doguwa in a statement on Sunday, January 29, 2023, said;
“The 10-day extension for the exchange of the old naira notes is not the solution: We as a legislative committee with a constitutional mandate of the house, would only accept clear compliance with section 20 sub 3, 4, and 5 of the CBN act and nothing more.”
“Nigeria as a developing economy and a nascent democracy must respect the principle of the rule of law. And the House would go ahead to sign arrest warrant to compel the CBN Governor to appear before the adhoc committee.”
“Under my chairmanship, the committee will continue to work until we get the demands of Nigerians addressed in accordance with the laws of the land.”
“The extension is a mere political gimmick to further deceive Nigerians and worsen their economic and social livelihood, the CBN governor must appear before or stand the risk of being arrested on the strength of legislative writs signed earlier by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.”
Recall that many Nigerians have complained about their inability to access the newly redesigned notes.
The apex bank had earlier set a deadline for the exchange of the old Naira notes for the new ones on January 31st .
Be that as it may, following the series of complains from Nigerians, the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele in a statement on Sunday, January 29, 2023 announced that the deadline had been extended to February 10.