Senate orders CBN to increase cash withdrawal limits as new naira enters circulation today – Newstrends
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Senate orders CBN to increase cash withdrawal limits as new naira enters circulation today

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The Senate on Wednesday urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to increase the cash withdrawal limits.

The CBN had, on December 6, restricted the maximum cash withdrawal by individuals and corporate organisations per week to N100,000 and N500,000 respectively.

The policy is billed to take effect on January 9, 2023.

But the Senate, after debating the report of its Committee on Banking, which engaged CBN chiefs on the policy, yesterday asked the apex bank to adjust the withdrawal limits in response to the public outcry that trailed it.

The Senate directed the committee to embark on aggressive oversight of the CBN on its commitment to flexible adjustment of the withdrawal limit and periodically report outcomes to the chamber.

It also resolved to support the CBN in the continuous implementation of transformational payments and financial industry initiatives in line with its mandate.

Senators, during the debate, expressed divergent views on the withdrawal limits, with the majority saying the implementation would affect the rural economy.

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Senators Yusuf Yusuf (APC, Taraba), Degi Eremienyo (APC, Bayelsa) and Francis Alimikhena (PDP, Edo) urged their colleagues to support the policy’s implementation.

Senator Uba Sani (APC, Kaduna), who chairs the Committee on Banking, said the cashless policy was in line with CBN Act and was intended to foster a safe, credible and efficient payment system.

“It’s neither targeted at any segment of the society nor intended to disenfranchise hardworking Nigerians and businesses as insinuated in some quarters,” he said.

But those who spoke against the policy said it is unsustainable in a rural economy like Nigeria, and that forcing it on the citizens would create a currency black market.

Senator Ajibola Basiru (APC, Osun) described the cash withdrawal limits as unrealistic, given the current average cost of living.

Basiru and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (APC, Abia) called for an upward review of the withdrawal limits.

Kalu suggested N500,000 daily cash withdrawal limit for individuals and N3m for corporate bodies.

Senators Adamu Aliero (PDP, Kebbi), Hassan Hadejia (APC, Jigawa) and Adamu Bulkachuwa (PDP, Bauchi) said the implementation of the policy would crash the rural economy and render many jobless.

Bulkachuwa said the CBN, with the policy, was trying to pull the wool over the eyes of Nigerians and dismissed the panel’s recommendations as nonsensical.

Senators Biodun Olujimi (PDP, Ekiti) and Francis Fadahunsi (PDP, Osun) raised an issue with the timing of the policy and called for massive enlightenment of Nigerians.

“The policy seems to be targeted at the elite who often devise means to circumvent the law. But it’ll affect millions of Nigerians in the rural areas,” Fadahunsi said.

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Senator Stella Oduah (PDP, Anambra) who described it as draconian, said: “Many rural communities in Nigeria have no internet network. Without necessary infrastructure put in place, the policy will create more trouble,” Oduah said.

Meanwhile, the new Naira notes will go into circulation today as banks are expected to make them available to customers across the country. Director, Currency Operations, CBN, Bello Umar, reconfirmed this in Abuja yesterday during a post-Monetary Policy Committee press briefing.

President Muhammadu Buhari had, on November 23, unveiled the redesigned Naira notes across the N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations.

New naira enters circulation today

The newly redesigned naira notes will go into circulation today with Deposit Money Banks releasing the bills to their customers via over-the-counter payments.

This came about three weeks after the President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the new bills at a weekly Federal Executive Council meeting in Aso Rock Villa.

The President unveiled the redesigned notes across the N200, N500 and N1,000 denominations.

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Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

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November 14, 2024

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Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo

Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

Edo State Governor, Monday Okpebholo, has directed the immediate freezing of all state-owned bank accounts.

In a statement issued on Thursday by his Chief Press Secretary, Fred Itua, the governor stated that the accounts would remain frozen until further notice.

He instructed commercial banks, ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) to comply with the order immediately or face severe consequences.

The statement reads: “All state bank accounts with commercial banks have been frozen. Commercial banks must comply with this order and ensure that not a single naira is withdrawn from government coffers until further notice.

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“Heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies must ensure full compliance without delay.

“Following necessary investigations and reconciliations, the governor will take appropriate action and decide on the way forward. For now, this order remains in effect.”

Okpebholo also directed relevant agencies to revert the name of the Ministry of Roads and Bridges to its previous title, the Ministry of Works, a change made during the Godwin Obaseki administration.

“It is odd to name a government institution the Ministry of Roads and Bridges, especially when not a single bridge was built by the previous administration — not even a pedestrian bridge.

“In the coming days, we will examine further actions taken by the previous administration and make decisions that serve the best interests of the state,” the statement added.

 

Edo Gov Okpebholo freezes govt accounts, reverses ministry’s name

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Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

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19 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi

Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

Prominent Islamic scholar Dr. Ahmad Mahmud Gumi has criticized the widely discussed two-state solution for the Israel-Palestine conflict, calling it a “deception.”

His remarks followed a recent summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Riyadh, where President Bola Tinubu and other leaders condemned Israel’s actions in Gaza and urged an end to hostilities.

In an interview with Daily Trust at his Kaduna residence, Gumi argued, “This Two-State Solution is a deception. No Israeli will allow a Palestinian to survive, and Palestinians will never allow Israel to survive.

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The only solution is to dissolve the two states and create a democratically electable region.”

Gumi commended the OIC’s support for Palestine, noting that Muslims and Arabs worldwide increasingly see the treatment of Palestinians as “genocide” and accuse Israel of human rights abuses.

He also called for a return to the pre-1948 structure, where Palestinians, Jews, and Christians lived together, suggesting a single, inclusive state that allows peaceful coexistence.

“When I hear people talking about Two-State Solutions, I know they are just deceiving themselves,” Gumi added, advocating for a unified region where people of all faiths can live together, similar to the multi-faith coexistence seen in countries like the United States.

 

Israel-Palestinian conflict: Two-state solution is a deception, says Gumi

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Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

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19 hours ago

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November 14, 2024

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Olusola Ebiseni

Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

The Labour Party candidature of Olusola Ebiseni for the upcoming gubernatorial election in Ondo State has been nullified.

The nullification follows the sacking of Ebiseni by the Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, on Wednesday.

The governorship election of the southwest State will hold on Saturday, 16 November 2024.

The judgement disqualifying Ebiseni was unanimously delivered by the three members of the panel and read out by the chairman of the panel, Justice Adebukola Banjoko.

The judgment granted the prayer of the Labour Party who preferred the case against Ebiseni.

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Justice Banjoko held that, “the appeal marked CA/ABJ/CV/1172/2024 brought by the Labour Party against Chief Olusola Ebiseni and two others is allowed.”

Justice Banjoko further stated that the Certified True Copy of the judgment would be provided to the parties involved in the appeal as soon as possible for their review.

Recall that Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja had ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission to accept and recognize Olusola Ebiseni and Ezekiel Awude as the Labour Party’s governorship and deputy governorship candidates for the November 16 Ondo State governorship elections.

Justice Nwite confirmed that the second primary election conducted by the Labour Party, which resulted in Ebiseni and Awude being selected as candidates, was valid and should be upheld by INEC.

However, the appellate court has now overturned the judgment of the trial court’s judgment.

 

Court sacks Ondo LP candidate, two days to governorship poll

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