The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has been summoned to appear before the House of Representatives to explain the propriety of the apex bank’s contentious plan to introduce N5,000 notes.
The Lower House summon follows a similar move by the Senate after outcry greeted the apex bank’s decision.
Nigerians, including economists and finance experts, have raised the alarm that the move will cause inflation and fuel corruption among other ills.
The introduction of a N5,000 note by the apex bank would also see the conversion of the N20, N10 and N5 notes to coins.
A statement issued yesterday by the House Committee on Banking and Currency was silent on the specific date Sanusi is expected to appear. However, the statement outlined factors that will be key to the committee’s consideration as: cost of implementing the policy to government, the inflationary trend, devaluation implication and cashless policy derivative.
With federal lawmakers away on their scheduled two-month recess till September, LEADERSHIP learnt that the committee will only communicate the date the CBN Governor is to appear as soon as it is able to form a quorum.
The statement read to newsmen by the Banking and Currency Chairman, Hon. Jones Chukwudi Onyereri, queried how the CBN’s introduction of higher currency notes would help the apex banks cashless economy drive.
“The House Committee will invite the management of the Central Bank in an effort for the Committee to know whether the Central Bank is still pursuing the cashless policy, and, if they are, how does this higher currency note complement the cashless policy,” Onyereri said.
Onyereri noted that the CBN did not communicate to the committee on Banking and Currency its plan of introducing a N5,000 note in the economy. According to the committee chair, the intervention of the Lower House is to ensure that due process is followed and rule of law adhered to.