A mild drama played out at the Senate chambers during Wednesday’s plenary session when lawmakers debated the CBN’s Policy to redesign the Naira notes.
The session turned rowdy following a point of order raised by Senator Uba Sani, urging the Senate to throw its weight behind the policy.
While lawmakers supporting the motion called on the CBN to extend its deadline for implementation, others asked the Senate not to interfere with the decision of the apex bank because its operations do not fall within the jurisdiction of the lawmakers.
The CBN’S decision on its new policy to redesign the Naira notes is still generating concerns in several quarters in the country.
The CBN Governor’s insistence on redesigning Nigeria’s bank notes has already caused a ripple effect on the country’s economy, with an unstable forex rate and rising inflation.
At the resumption of plenary, the Chairman of Senate’s Committee on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions, Senator Uba Sani, came under orders 41 & 51 of the Senate standing orders for the Senate to wade into the matter by supporting the adoption of the policy.
Some of his colleagues who supported the motion believe the new policy is a positive development but urged the CBN Governor to extend the implementation deadline set by the CBN.
Some lawmakers strongly kicked against the Senate’s intervention, arguing that the matter does not fall within its jurisdiction and that the CBN Governor did not seek their opinion on the matter.
While the lawmakers supported the move to redesign the naira, they however said the deadline of January 31st, 2023 to pay all cash in circulation into banks was too short.
They called for aggressive enlightenment on the part of the CBN, especially in the rural areas to ensure that all Nigerians are made aware of the new policy.
They insisted that such mass awareness would help Nigerians in rural areas to comply with the policy so as not to lose their hard-earned income.
They also urged the CBN to put measures in place in the face of ubiquitous Financial Technology (FinTech) to ensure that the local populace is able to bank their cash with ease within the stipulated time.
They said such a measure would also ensure the security of the local population who might be waylaid and dispossessed of their cash by criminal elements like bandits and insurgents.
The argument threw the parliament into a rowdy session, prompting the Senate to put the matter to a voice Vote and the AYES had it.
This is another win for CBN’s move to redesign some denominations of Nigeria’s legal tender.
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