The House, therefore, summoned the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, asking him to appear next Thursday and explain the policy to the Green Chamber.
The House of Representatives has condemned the new policy introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria limiting cash withdrawals at Deposit Money Banks and other financial institutions.
The House, therefore, summoned the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, asking him to appear next Thursday and explain the policy to the Green Chamber.
This followed a motion of urgent public importance at the plenary moved on Thursday by Aliyu Magaji, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress who represents Birninkudu/Buji federal constituency in Jigawa State at the lower chamber.
Several lawmakers warned that the policy would have serious consequences and adverse effects on businesses and Nigerians who have no access to the banking system.
The Minority Leader, Ndudi Elumelu, however, said the policy would check crimes as funds would now be tracked through the banking system. He said though the timing might be wrong, the country would benefit more from it.
The apex bank on Wednesday placed limits on over-the-counter cash withdrawals, Automated Teller Machine (ATM) withdrawals, and point of sale (PoS) withdrawals.
CBN’s director of banking supervision, Haruna Mustafa, in a statement directed that over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities should not exceed ₦100,000 and ₦500,000 respectively, per week.
Mustafa said that withdrawals above these limits shall attract processing fees of 5% and 10% respectively
He added that third-party cheques above ₦50,000 would not be eligible for payment over the counter, while extant limits of ₦410,000,000 on clearing cheques still subsist.
Mustafa noted that the maximum cash withdrawal per week via ATM should be ₦100,000 subject to a maximum of ₦20,000 cash withdrawal per day adding that only denominations of ₦200 and below should be loaded into the ATM machine.
According to the CBN director, the maximum cash withdrawal from PoS terminals should be ₦20,000 daily.
“In compelling circumstances, not exceeding once a month, where cash withdrawals above the prescribed limits are required for legitimate purposes, such cash withdrawals shall not exceed ₦5,000,000.00 and ₦10,000,000.00 for individuals and corporate organisations. respectively, and shall be subject to the referenced processing fees,” Mustafa had said.
Mustafa also encouraged customers to use other alternative channels like internet banking, mobile banking apps, USSD, cards/POS, eNaira, etc. to conduct their banking transactions.
He noted that the new policy will take effect from Monday, January 9, 2023, and added that anyone who does not adhere to the policy will face severe sanctions.