Nigeria Senate postpones debate on CBN withdrawal limits

The upper chamber of Nigeria’s National Assembly, Senate on Tuesday postponed its debate on the cash withdrawal limit policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) till Wednesday, December 14, 2022.

This is because of the absence of the Chairman of the Committee on Banking and Finance, Senator Uba Sani, who is away attending the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential rally in Kaduna.

A member of the Committee, Senator Olubunmi Adetumbi, in a Point of Order told his colleagues that the report which was to be presented at Tuesday’s plenary had to be withheld because Sani is away for the APC rally in Kaduna.

Adetumbi assured the Senate that the report of the Committee on the CBN withdrawal policy is ready, noting that the Committee’s chairman had to attend the APC Zonal rally in his capacity as the governorship candidate of Kaduna State.

Responding, Senate President Ahmad Lawan, appealed to lawmakers to be patient as the findings of the Committee will be unveiled within 24 hours.

Uba is also expected to brief his colleagues on the outcome of the screening of Edward Adamu and Aisha Ahmad as deputy governors of the CBN.

However, another lawmaker, Senator Muhammed Bulkachuwa warned that the Senate should not sweep the issue under the carpet because of the significance of the policy, noting that the House of Representatives has invited the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to appear before the House to discuss the policy.

NEWSVERGE recalled that the CBN recently pegged maximum daily withdrawals via Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point Of Sale (PoS) terminals at N20,000.

The CBN said the new policy is a sequel to the launch of the redesigned N200, N500, and N1,000 notes by President Muhammadu Buhari on November 23, 2022.

It directed banks to ensure that weekly over-the-counter (OTC) cash withdrawals by individuals and corporate entities do not exceed N100,000 and N500,000, respectively.