The Senate on Tuesday urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to extend the withdrawal date of the old naira notes for seven months, starting January 31 to July 31.
It also appealed to the apex bank to open an exchange window where people that don’t have bank accounts can deposit their old notes.
The resolution was sequel to a motion by Senator Sadiq Suleiman (APC-Kwara) who recalled that the Senate in its resolution on Dec. 28, 2022, urged the CBN to extend the use of the old notes from Jan. 31 to June 30.
Suleiman,who noted that the CBN January 31 date for the withdrawal of old Naira notes, lamented that there were not enough new naira notes in circulation, hence the need to extend the date.
He said: “Experiences around the world have shown that such abrupt decisions, if not controlled, usually create chaos.The Senate should extend the use of the old notes to July 31st”
While supporting the motion, Senator Ibrahim Hadejia (APC-Jigawa),said that the call for extension was for their constituents and not for their (lawmakers) personal benefits.
Senator Adamu Aliero (PDP-Kebbi) said that the policy would inflict untold hardship on people living in the rural areas.
Sen. Adamu Bulkachuwa (PDP-Bauchi) said that the extension was necessary otherwise there would be chaos.
Sen. Biodun Olujimi (PDP-Ekiti) who decried that in her local government area, about 90 per cent of the people have not seen a glimpse of the new naira notes, called on the apex bank to “look away from the elections”.
She said that if the date was not extended, it would lead to collateral damage which would not augur well for the economy.
Sen. Mohammed Ndume (APC-Borno) called on the Senate to use its oversight responsibility on the CBN to “order the CBN governor to extend the date”.
He said that the power of the senate should not be played down calling on the Senators to stand firm on the call for extension.
For Sen. Sam Egwu (PDP-Ebonyi), who was the only senator that opposed the motion, “Nigerians do not have the culture of keeping their money in the bank.
“It is in Nigeria where cash is used arbitrarily; other countries use electronic means. Nigerians are just averse to change,” Egwu said.
The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said that most of the senatorial districts did not have banks.
“In rural Nigeria, there are no banks and people transact businesses with cash more often.There is no doubt that we must have a window for exchange. We must have policies by the CBN to have bank branches established in rural areas.We need this extension for the most ordinary Nigerians,” Lawan said.