According to reports, the CBN policy announced on Tuesday limits over-the-counter cash withdrawals by individuals and organisations to N100,000 and N500,000 per week, respectively.

According to a memo signed Tuesday by the CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, cash withdrawals via point-of-sale machines and automated teller machines are limited to N20,000 daily and N100,000 weekly, respectively.

The new directive, which takes effect from January 9, 2023, stipulates that withdrawals above the thresholds would attract processing fees of five per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, for individuals and corporate entities going forward.

Only N200 and lower denominations will be loaded into their ATMs and restricted withdrawal to N20, 000 per day from ATMs.

Senate Deliberation

Deliberating on the new directive on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday, the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, directed the Senate Committee on Banking to grill the two re-appointed deputy governors of the CBN, Aisha Ahmad, and Edward Adamu, who will be screened on Friday, on the new cash withdrawal policy.

This followed a move by Senator Philip Aduda (PDP FCT) to move a motion on the development.

Aduda had sought to rally other senators to deliberate on the policy but the Senate President, Lawan, interrupted him, saying “As good as the cashless policy may be, it shouldn’t be jumped at, at once. The way CBN is going about the policy, many Nigerians would be cut off and that won’t be accepted.

“Motion on the policy will be thoroughly debated in Senate on Tuesday next week after adequate information has been gotten.

Lawan noted that the newly re-appointed deputy CBN governors would be screened between Thursday and Monday so that by Tuesday, they would have been equipped with enough information to raise a motion in support or shoot down the policy.

He said, “Before Tuesday next week, our committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions mandated to screen the re – appointed deputy governors of the Central Bank should focus its questions on the planned policy.

“The CBN deputy governors must be thoroughly grilled on the policy after which extensive debate on it will be made by Senators on Tuesday next week.”

Also speaking to The PUNCH, the lawmaker representing Kaduna Central and Chairman, Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Instructions, Senator Uba Sani said the CBN deputy governors would be screened on Friday.

He said, “We are working on their letters, the letters will be served tomorrow (Today) and the deputy governors of the CBN will be screened on Friday.’’

Senate Threatens Zero Allocation for 100 MDAs Over Service-wide Vote

The Senate has also threatened 100 federal government-owned agencies with zero budget allocation in 2023 for not honouring invitations from its Committee on Public Accounts for explanations on service-wide vote expenditure from 2017 to 2021.

This development is sequel to complaints lodged against them by the chairman, Senate Committee on Public Accounts, Mathew Urhoghide (PDP, Edo South).

Urhoghide had, through Orders 42 and 95 of the Senate Standing Rules, complained about the alleged recalcitrance of heads of the affected agencies to honour invitations sent to them by his committee for appearance before it for explanations on service-wide vote given to them by the Presidency, totalling N1.9trillion.

“Mr President, heads of agencies totalling about 100, indicted in various reports forwarded to the Public Accounts Committee by the Office of  Accountant General of the Federation on disbursements and spending of Service-wide Vote from 2017 to 2021, in line with provisions of sections 62, 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, have repeatedly failed to appear before us.

“This, to us, is against the constitution and policy of accountability and transparency of the federal government.

“I crave your indulgence that we invite through your order, either by way of warrant of arrest or anything, so that these agencies can come, that we can complete our report and submit to this Senate,” he said.

Peeved by the submission, Senate President Ahmad Lawan requested the list of the affected agencies, read them out to all Senators and ordered that they appear before the committee within one week or risk zero budget allocation capital expenditure in 2023.

“Your point of order is sustained fully, completely, and totally sustained; you are right to bring to the plenary your grievances. Reading this list at plenary gives the agencies opportunity to now know if they were not aware before – for those that may claim ignorance – and I am taking the opportunity here to advise that in the next one week if the name of any agency is here, that agency should reach the committee on public account of the Senate to sort out when the agency would appear before the committee.

“If there is no communication whatsoever and no cogent and verifiable reason is given, we will slash the budget of the agencies as far as the capital component is concerned.

“Heads of the affected agencies must take this very seriously because any serving public officer must be ready to render account on public funds  and if not ready to do so, should quit since nobody should be above the law “, he said.

Other affected agencies aside the ones earlier mentioned are: Office Of the Accountant General of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Interior, Budget Office of the Federation, Nigeria Bulk Electricity  Trading Plc , Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Emergency Management Agency , National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Ministry of Defence and Office of the Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta Affair s.

Others are:  Ministry Of Petroleum Resources, National Inland Water Ways  Authority  Lokoja,  Federal Ministry of Health, Presidential Amnesty Programme, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Federal Civil Service Commission,  Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority, National Health Insurance Scheme, Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy,  Tertiary Education Trust Fund (Tetfund), Federal Ministry of Youth and Sport Development, Ministry of Environment, National Hajj Commission of Nigeria, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation Fiscal Commission, Federal Ministry of Information and Culture, Nigeria Defence Academy, National Human Rights Commission, Nigeria Centre For Disease Control, and National Security Adviser, among others.