Senate has made a passionate appeal to Central Bank Of Nigeria to consider an upward review of the cash withdrawal limits. Senators urged the apex bank to make upward adjustment of the proposed N100, 000 per week for individual and N500, 000 per week for Corporate bodies in response to public outcry. Senators were however sharply divided over the plans by the Central Bank of Nigeria to limit cash withdrawal by any individual to N100,000 and Corporate bodies to N500,000 per week from January 9, 2023 as they kicked against the timing. Senators who kicked against the proposed policy, said that Nigeria was not ripe for it as the rural people would suffer, describing it as nonsensical, vague, nebulous and anti- people, just as they warned that it may lead to mass revolt in the rural areas across the country.
As a result the Senate has mandated its Senator Uba Sani, led Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to embark on aggressive oversight of the Bank on its commitment to flexible adjustment of the withdrawal limit and periodically report outcome to the Senate; The Senate however supported the CBN in the continuous implementation of transformational payments and financial industry initiatives in line with its mandate in accordance with the CBN Act. Resolutions of the Senate were sequel to the adoption of the report of Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions after heated debate by Senators on the proposed policy after the presentation by the Chairman. In his presentation of the report, Senator Uba Sani argued that the planned Cash Withdrawal Limits was well conceived by the CBN for transformation of the Nation’s economy and that the action falls within the mandate of the Apex bank as provided for in section 2(d) and 47 of its extant Act. According to him, the implementation of the Cashless policy in 6 states resulted in reduction in the cost of currency management by 15.20% from N36 97 billion to N31.35 billion between 2013 and 2014. The trend however reversed in 2014 following the suspension of cash deposit charges in the six states currency handing cost increasing by 17.20% between 2014 and 2015 following the suspension. The cost of currency management has been on the increase since then, Total cost of currency management for 10 months to end October 2022 was N47.25 billion.
During debate on the report and recommendations that were later adopted as resolutions, Senator Ajibola Basiru, who said that the proposed threshold of N100,000 and N500, 000 withdrawal per week for individuals and corporate bodies respectively was unrealistic, said, ” Laws are made for people and not people made or created for law . If CBN is acting under section 2(d) and 47 of its extant Act to make life difficult for Nigerians through a policy , as representatives of the people ,we need intervene. “Such intervention from us is to make CBN realise that the proposed Cash withdrawal limits policy is unrealistic and very injurious and detrimental to the well-being of rural dwellers , many of whom are our constituents. Report of this committee recommending the policy to us and by extension, to Nigerians through suggestion of flexibility in implementation is vague, nebulous and means nothing.”
Also kicking against the planned policy, Senator Adamu Aliero, said that the picture painted by the committee in its report on the proposed CBN policy was nothing, but an idea picture of what economy should be which is far cry from what economy is , in reality as far as Nigeria is concerned. Aliero said, “the proposed CBN policy does not capture the informal sector and very detrimental to the livelihood of rural dwellers who are not into e – banking. Public outcry against the policy is too much , requiring serious caution as far as implementation is concerned because Nigeria economy is predominantly rural.” Also calling for the jettisoning of the plan, Senator Adamu Bulkachuwa, who warned that the proposed policy , if not suspended , may trigger revolt from rural dwellers, said that the recommendations made by the Senate Committee on Banking on the policy which were later adopted as resolutions, made no sense to him.
He said, “Senate committee recommendations on the proposed CBN policy, is nothing but trying to put wool in the eyes of Nigerians.” The Senate Chief Whip, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, a member of the Committee who signed the adopted report on the proposed policy, kicked against it in his contribution, saying he appended his signature in order not to rock the boat. Kalu said, “N100, 000 per week for individuals and N500,000 per week for corporate bodies , are too small. The N500, 000 per day for individuals l and N3million per day for corporate bodies being implemented in Abia , Lagos , Ogun, Rivers , FCT etc , should be sustained across the country for now “ Other Senators who kicked against implementation of the policy as planned from January 9, 2023, were Biodun Olujimi, Chukwuka Utazi, Stella Oduah, Ibrahim Hassan and Hadeija, Francis Fadahunsi.
Olujimi called for consultation with Stakeholders like the Senate before policies like these are brought up for the people, saying that the timing is wrong against the backdrop of next year’s presidential and general elections, adding that there should be flexibility. But Senators Yusuf A Yusuf, Degi Eremienyo, and Francis Alimikhena, supported it in their separate contributions, even as Alimikhena urged that the policy should be tested first and be given the chance to survive and thrive.
