The 36 State governors have raised a six-member committee headed by Governor Chukwuma Soludo to engage the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in addressing issues pertaining to the country’s monetary management and financial system.
The governors also resolved to collaborate with the CBN and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in advancing genuine objectives within the framework of the country’s laws.
The governors arrived at the resolutions during its first meeting in 2023 held on Thursday, under the auspices of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF).
The NGF, in a communiqué issued on Saturday by the its chairman and Governor of Sokoto State, Aminu Tambuwal, noted that the recent NFIU advisory and guidelines on cash transactions are outside its legal remit and mandate.
The CBN, on December 6, 2022, directed banks and other financial institutions, payment service bank, primary mortgage banks and microfinance banks to limit the maximum cash withdrawal over the counter by individuals and corporate firms weekly to N100,000 and N500,000 respectively, adding that withdrawals above the lower limit would require processing fees of 5% and 10% respectively for individuals and corporate firms henceforth.
The apex bank further directed that third-party cheques above N50,000 shall not be suitable for OTC payment, while extant limits of N10 million on clearing cheques stay, following the apex bank’s latest naira notes redesign.
Following pressure from Nigerians and lawmakers, the CBN revised upward its cash withdrawal limit, saying individuals can now withdraw N500,000 cash weekly, while corporate entities can withdraw up to N5 million cash across all channels comprising Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and Point of Sale (PoS) terminals.
The NGF said the CBN governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, briefed it on the Naira redesign, its economic and security implications, including the cash withdrawal policy.
The governors, who stressed that they are not opposed to the objectives of the Naira redesign policy, however, observed that there are huge challenges that remain problematic to the Nigerian populace.
The further stressed the need for the CBN to consider the peculiarities of states, especially pertaining to financial inclusion.
The governors, therefore, resolved to “set up a six-member committee to be chaired by Prof Soludo, and the governors of Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Borno, Plateau and Jigawa states as members, to engage the CBN in addressing anomalies in the country’s monetary management and financial system.
“Work closely with the CBN leadership to ameliorate areas that require policy variation particularly the poorest households, the vulnerable in society and several other citizens of our country that are excluded.
“Collaborate with the CBN and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in advancing genuine objectives within the confines of our laws.”