Finally, Emefiele appears before reps over naira redesign policy

From Abubakar Yunusa Abuja

Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is currently before the house of representatives ad hoc committee on the currency redesign and naira swap policy.

The CBN governor had ignored previous invitations from the lawmakers, prompting them to threaten to issue a warrant of arrest against him.

On Thursday, Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house, said he will issue a warrant to the inspectorgeneral of police (IGP) to compel the attendance of the CBN governor to respond to the summon of the house on Tuesday (today).

Emefiele is currently before the lawmakers in the company of top officials of the CBN, including Kingsley Obiora, deputy governor, economic policy directorate.

After sustained public outcry and criticism from key stakeholders, the CBN on Sunday extended the deadline for the swap of old naira notes at commercial banks by 10 days.

Announcing the development after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, the CBN governor said the new deadline is February 10, 2023. However, Nigerians will still be able to deposit their old notes directly with the CBN until February 17, 2023, described as a “grace period”.

Nigerians had been complaining about the inability to swap their old notes for the new designs as the January 31 deadline loomed.

The naira redesign is believed to be targeted at stopping vote buying in the 2023 general election scheduled for February 25 and March 11.

“All three observations are a direct indictment of the country’s political leadership for its failures in the management of our fiscal resources. The APC-led government lacks the critical competencies to initiate and implement innovative solutions to our problems and deliver on their mandate with the desired impact.”

Abubakar said if elected, he would act differently and change the economic direction of the country for the better.

He pledged to “undertake far-reaching fiscal restructuring to improve liquidity and the management of our fiscal resources”.

“Among others, I will undertake an immediate review of government spending with a view to eliminating all leakages arising from subsidy payments.

“Second, I will stop all fiscal support to ailing and underperforming state-owned enterprises.

“Third, I will take steps to improve spending efficiency by gradual reduction of government recurrent expenditures.

“Fourth, I will undertake a review of government procurement processes to ensure value-for-money and eliminate all leakages.

“Finally, I will focus on non-debt financing by promoting a private sector-led infrastructure development fund for the financing and delivery of key infrastructure projects.”