The House of Representatives, on Tuesday, has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to urgently address the ongoing scarcity of naira notes and investigate the factors behind the situation.
A member of the House, Hon. Uguru Emmanuel, had, in a motion under matters of urgent public importance, insisted that the apex bank must call all commercial banks to order if it is not responsible for the challenges being created by the scarcity.
Moving the motion, the lawmaker noted the severe economic and social implications of the cash scarcity, which, he said, had left many Nigerians helpless in accessing funds even for basic needs.
According to him, “one of the major factors that stimulates an economy towards growth is consumer spending and business investments,” adding that the lingering cash supply shortage is having dire consequences on individuals and the country’s economy.
He recalled that on the 21st of December, 2022, the CBN, through a policy contained in a circular number BSD/DIR/PUB/LAB/015/073, reviewed the cash withdrawal limits across all channels to N500, 000 and N5, 000,000 for individuals and corporate entities respectively.
However, the lawmaker said the directive, according to him, had been withdrawn without any public statement.
He argued that it was however worrisome that commercial banks in Nigeria have ceased complying with the policy as they hardly give above N50, 000.00 to even current account holders.
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“The cash crunch in commercial banks in the country has become a clog in the wheel of economic activities, as entrepreneurs are subjected to long queues and sometimes spend a whole day or two in the bank with a loss of man-hours, only to get ten thousand Naira (N10,000) and in most cases go back home with nothing, subjecting this class of persons who have no access to point of sale (POS) that is mostly not applicable in some articles of trade, especially in the rural areas, to hopelessness”, he said.
The lawmaker also raised concerns over the access to cash by the POS operators, who in turn, sell same at exorbitant rates to helpless customers.
“Where do POS operators get their cash from while banks remain dry?” he queried.
Emmanuel called on the CBN to urgently intervene to avert chaos before and during the festive season.
At the end of the debate, the House mandated its Committee on Banking Regulations to investigate the cash crunch in commercial banks and report back within one week, just as it ordered the apex bank to bring the situation under control if it wasn’t responsible.
