Emefiele: British Parliamentarian Seeks Independent Institutions Ahead of 2023 Elections •CFSITT, member of Egmont Group, expresses concern over DSS’ attempt to arrest CBN governor •Apex bank bows to pressure, reviews cash withdra
•Apex bank bows to pressure, reviews cash withdrawal limits upwards•Reiterates drive for cashless economy, insists policy takes off January 9•Don’t politicise security, DSS operations, Saraki cautionsSunday Aborisade, James Emejo, Udora Orizu, Emameh Gabriel in Abuja and Nume Ekeghe in Lagos
Similarly, the Centre for Financial Surveillance and Illicit Transaction Tracking Group expressed concerns over the move against Emefiele. The member of Egmont Group, a 164 countries membership forum, said the likely suspension of Nigeria was one of the consequences of the terrorism allegation against the CBN governor by DSS.
The House of Representatives resolved yesterday to admit a Deputy Governor of the CBN in charge of Financial System Stability, Mrs. Aisha Ahmad, in place of Emefiele, to brief the lawmakers on the recent monetary policies of the apex bank, especially the cash withdrawal limits. DSS had, through one U. S. Gambarawa on December 7, 2022, brought an ex parte application before the Federal High Court, Abuja, seeking the court’s order to arrest and detain Emefiele over alleged terrorism financing, among others. The court, in its ruling, declined to grant the request by DSS to arrest Emefiele. It said sufficient evidence was not brought before it to warrant the granting of the order.
“At a time when democracy is in retreat globally, we all have a stake in Nigeria’s success. The country is Africa’s greatest economy, Africa’s greatest population and Africa’s greatest hope. That is why I have raised the issue of the attempt to detain the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, in Parliament.
“The allegation that the DSS embarked on this plot to remove the CBN governor for political and pecuniary reasons, is not only a huge shame, but against the ethics of the Egmont group which Nigeria is a member. The central bank, in yielding to public pressure on the review, noted that it recognised the role that cash played in supporting underserved and rural communities and would ensure an inclusive approach as it implemented the transition to a more cashless society.
In addition, third-party cheques above N50, 000 shall not be eligible for OTC payment while extant limits of N10 million on clearing cheques still remain. Emefiele had on Tuesday told the House, which summoned him last week, that he was outside the country. “Regrettably, the governor is out of the country on official engagement as well as attending to some health challenges. He is, therefore, unavailable to attend this briefing.
“If the governor has said he is out of the country and in good faith, he is attending to health conditions, if that is the case, would it serve this House to continue to insist on his physical appearance? Two, would it serve the interest of the country to say we will wait whenever he comes back in January, because a lot would have happened between now and then?
But the House became divided, with some agreeing to Gbajabiamila’s position and others suggesting the representative briefed the House Committee on Banking and Currency instead of the whole House. In his contributions, Deputy Speaker, Hon Idris Wase, appealed to members to allow Emefiele’s representative to appear for him.
The former senate president was reacting to the recent court case in which the DSS accused Emefiele of terrorism and other charges while seeking a court order for his arrest “With all due respect that I have for the DSS as a very professional security agency, I still found it very difficult to understand what led to the charges, why concrete evidence that will enable the court to take a good decision was not provided, and why the department gave room for suspicion and speculations, as the case file had gaping holes, as noted by the Honourable Judge John Tsoho.
“These same undesirable elements in the political process have attempted to use the National Assembly to scuttle the electoral process by frustrating the provisions on electronic transmission of results, use of Biometric Voters Accreditation System , the new guidelines on currency change and cash withdrawal.
He said, “With the current situation in the country, all the citizens, national institutions, residents, and foreign friends of Nigeria should commit to the goal of having free, fair, peaceful, and credible polls in 2023. “Nigerians on the streets will vehemently resist any attempt to derail the cashless policy of the federal government of Nigeria,” they added.
“This should ring a bell when we recall that this alleged plot is coming immediately after the redesign of the naira notes and the review of the cash withdrawal limits for both individuals and organisations.” “The ban on cash withdrawals and subsequent directive to public officers to immediately open domiciliary accounts in foreign and local currencies ahead of the commencement of the cash withdrawal policy will deepen the gains of the cashless policy of the federal government through the CBN.”
“That’s why they want him out of the way before the election so that someone who can do their biddings is appointed to reverse the cashless policy implementation.
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