Emefiele is before the ad hoc committee set up by the House to investigate the alleged scarcity of the redesigned notes and the timing of the policy.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, has appeared before the House of Representatives over the redesign of some naira notes.
Emefiele honoured the summon on Tuesday after repeated invitations by the Green Chamber.
The CBN boss sat before the ad hoc committee set up by the House to investigate the alleged scarcity of the redesigned notes and the timing of the policy.
The committee is chaired by Majority Leader, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa.
Emefiele, 61, told the committee that he had been out of the country hence his failure to honour previous invitations.
He said the CBN’s actions were in line with international best practices and the apex bank has to be in control of the currency in circulation.
He explained that the reason for directing banks to ensure only ATM withdrawals was to limit the daily withdrawal of individuals.
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The CBN boss decried the trend of the new notes being sighted at parties, adding that he had begun meeting with commercial banks to stop it.
Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, was to issue a warrant for Emefiele’s arrest over his repeated failures to answer at least four summons from the House.
Emefiele’s refusal to honour the House’s invitation forced the lower chamber to shelve its plan to go on break for the presidential and National Assembly elections due to the urgency of the matter.
However, the CBN, on Sunday, announced an extension of the deadline on the expiration of the old N1,000, N500 and N200 noted by 10 days – from January 31 to February 10, with the Deposit Money Banks (commercial banks) allowed to accept the notes by seven days more.
Reacting to the apex bank’s announcement, Ado-Doguwa said in a statement that the committee he chairs rejected the extension.
The lawmakers want the CBN to give a six-month period for the old notes to cease being legal tender.