By Marcus Ikechukwu
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) may revisit its recent cash withdrawal limits pegged at N100,000 for individuals and N500,000 for corporate organisations weekly, Elendu Reports has gathered.
Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor gave this indication on Thursday after paying a courtesy visit to President Muhammadu Buhari in Daura, Katsina state.
But Emefiele maintained that the yet-to-be-implemented policy on cash withdrawal limit was not meant to witch-hunt anybody, rather it was fashioned to strengthen the nation’s economy.
He assured that there would be some flexibility, especially with criticisms from the Senate, business experts and other stakeholders.
Recall that the CBN had on Tuesday unveiled a revised cash withdrawal limit with a maximum of N100,000 cash withdrawal per week for individuals and N500,000 cash per week for companies, a policy that has been faulted by the Senate.
In faulting it, the Senate said the apex bank may not have thoroughly thought about the implications and timing of the policy, arguing that it might worsen the tight economic environment.
Other stakeholders raised concerns over the possibility of implementing hitch-free cash withdrawal limits in communities with ‘blind spots or poor network connectivity.’
But reacting, the CBN governor, who spoke to State House correspondents in Daura, explained that more and more countries are already embracing digitization and hence have gone cashless, stressing that this policy is not targeted at anybody in particular.
Emefiele, who said he visited Daura to greet Mr President and to brief him about what was happening in the central bank and the economy, revealed that President Buhari was very, very happy “and said we should carry on our work, no need to fear, no need to bother about anybody.”
According to him, it’s just meant for the good and development of the Nigerian economy. We can only continue to appeal to Nigerians to see this policy as we have presented it.
Responding to the objection of the Senate, the apex bank boss said, “Well, the Senate of the Federal Republic is National Assembly, they are a legislative arm of the government, and from time to time, we brief them about what is happening and about our policies and I’m aware that they have asked for some briefings and we will brief them.
“But I think it’s important for me to say that the cashless policy started in 2012. But on almost three to four occasions, we had to step down the policy because we felt that there is a need for us to prepare ourselves and deepen our payment system infrastructure in Nigeria.
“Between 2012 and now 2022, almost 10 years, we believe that many electronic channels have been put in place that will aid people in conducting banking and financial service transactions in Nigeria.
