Doguwa said the House was still open for Emefiele to appear before it and explain why the naira had to be redesigned now.
By Jeffrey Agbo
Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Alhassan Doguwa, has accused the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, of working to scuttle the chances of the ruling party at the 2023 polls.
Emefiele has come under criticism for choosing to redesign some naira notes during an election year.
His unwillingness to appear before the House of Representatives to explain his policy has also set him against the lawmakers.
Speaking on Monday on Channels TV’s Politics Today, Doguwa, who is also the Chairman, House of Representatives Adhoc Committee on the New Naira Notes, claimed Emefiele was bitter because of his failed bid to contest the APC’s presidential ticket.
Doguwa said the 10-day extension for the currency swap was unacceptable to all the standing committees and the House of Representatives.
The legislator said the extension offended Section 20 (3) of the CBN Act, which he said allows both old and new notes to remain legal tender as much as the former were in circulation.
He said: “The constitution says that the CBN, being the apex bank in the country, must at all times whenever it wants to take a new policy, consult the standing committees of the House or the leadership of the National Assembly before such policy is rolled out.
“It did in the case of a cashless policy. We invited the bank. Though the governor could not make it as usual, he later sent a deputy governor to appear on his behalf.
“I want to tell you without any fear of contradiction that no one man, either the governor or anybody acting in his capacity, consulted the National Assembly or the House of Representatives.”
He said the decision was coming at the wrong time, leading to suspicions that the policy was being politicised.
Doguwa said: “We feel taking this decision at this moment will be detrimental, not only to the economy of the nation, but to the security of the nation.
“It will be detrimental to the general election. Why at this time except if they have any other peculiar reasons? I suspect ulterior motives in all this.
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“This is because the same CBN governor wanted to become the presidential candidate of the party. He even purchased the nomination form.
“I won’t be surprised if the CBN governor is trying to scuttle the process of this election. This is a possibility. I believe a good number of the legislators have similar feelings.
“I agree with our presidential candidate who raised the alarm that some enemies within are colluding with the enemies to redesign the naira at this time.
“No, this policy should not be at this time. The politicians, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the security and others need some cash at hand for their smooth operations.
“This policy is also political. It is not only about our presidential candidate, but the entirety of all the candidates standing for elections under the ruling party, the APC.
“This will definitely create a problem for the ruling party because an institution of the government is now being seen working against the interest of Nigerians.
“By this policy, we look at the CBN and its governor working with ulterior motives to undermine the fortune of the APC in the forthcoming elections.
“For the president to have agreed to a 10-day extension goes to show that the president was not properly briefed on the implications of the policy ab initio. This also goes to show that there is an issue.
“Even with the 10-day extension, that is not the position of the law and that cannot be acceptable by the parliament.
“We cannot accept it as a committee and the House of Representatives will not accept it because it contradicts the position of the law.”
Doguwa, who said the House, through its committee, had invited the CBN governor twice, was still open for Emefiele to appear before it and explain why the naira had to be redesigned now.
