Naira crisis: Reps may hold emergency session – Gbajabiamila
Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, has stated that if the Central Bank of Nigeria does not address the hardship that Nigerians experience as a result of its currency swap policy, the Green Chamber will be forced to reconvene prior to the presidential and National Assembly elections on February 25.
After the Green Chamber met with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele to discuss the matter, Gbajabiamila indicated that the House would continue to closely monitor the CBN’s implementation of the policy.
Gbajabiamila is credited with saying this in a town hall meeting with several ethnic groups in Surulere, Lagos, according to a statement released on Sunday by the Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi.
Currency Swap: We’ll Meet Again Before the Elections If… – Gbajabiamila’ was the title of the statement. claims Tinubu supports Nigerians.
On Tuesday of last week, Emefiele finally went before the House to address the situation brought on by the redesign of some naira bills and the public’s replacement of old naira bills with new ones.
In his testimony before the House’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Cashless Policy and Extend the Timeframe of the Currency Swap, the CBN governor stated that the apex bank hoped that the execution of the policy would strengthen the naira.
Emefiele had remarked, in part, “Subject to the provisions of the CBN Act, Section 20(3), which states that we are required to collect those funds even after the previous currency has lost its legal tender status, I stand with the House of Representatives on this.
Why does that matter? You still have your money that you were unable to deliver to the bank, but it may have lost its legal tender status, in which case we have moved on.
“We will provide you the chance to return them to the CBN without a doubt; you will redeem it, either by paying into your bank account or by doing (an) exchange, you will not lose your money.
“I want to give Nigerians that assurance. I want to make an appeal: even if it’s not an easy task, we are glad that after 19 years, we can still fulfill this crucial part of our mandate.
Similar to the Senate, the House has postponed its regular session until February 28 to give its members time to participate in electioneering.
The CBN governor initially failed to show up before an ad hoc panel of the House, prompting the Speaker to recall that he was about to issue a warrant for Emefiele’s arrest.
The House of Representatives made many interventions, according to Gbajabiamila. The CBN governor declined to respond when we summoned him the first time and again because we had a lot of challenging questions for him.
He didn’t show up until I threatened to issue an arrest warrant. And I would have authorized that warrant; the arrest of a CBN governor would have been a first in the National Assembly’s history. I would have carried it out.
The CBN’s independence and autonomy have been hotly debated.
Therefore, CBN is not above the law. According to the Constitution, the House has the authority to summon anyone, and that is exactly what it was going to do before the CBN governor arrived.
As a result, we are actively monitoring and watching. We shall reconvene the House if necessary. Despite the fact that we were all absent for our elections. If necessary, I will contact the House again.
The Speaker added that Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the APC’s presidential candidate, had identified with Nigerians despite the prevailing sufferings in the nation.
He continued by saying that the former governor of Lagos State had also criticized the CBN’s implementation of the policy, which he said called for extending the deadline for collecting old naira notes.
“On the currency swap, let me explain something to you: We are all very clever individuals,” Gbajabiamila remarked.
Many people are in pain; we have paid your pay, but you are unable to withdraw it; people are going hungry; what kind of situation is that? I do have some news, though.
