The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, was yesterday summoned by the House of Representatives.
Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele
The House of Representatives on Tuesday, August 11, 2015, summoned the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, to explain the recent policy instructing commercial banks to reject foreign currency deposits.
This invitation followed the unanimous adoption of a motion under matters of urgent public Importance sponsored by Rep. Emmanuel Ekon (Akwa-Ibom, PDP).
Ekon said that although the CBN Act of 2007 confers it with the power to devise suitable mechanism for the exchange of the Naira periodically, Nigerians need to understand the merits of the policy.
”The apex bank has not created avenues to address the fears of parents wishing to remit money for their children’s education or manufacturers placing orders for goods abroad. The explanation of the said policy to members of this house by the CBN Governor will enable us to disseminate the information to our respective constituents,’’ Ekon said.
The lawmaker further explained that if CBN fails to sensitise Nigerians, the policy might become counterproductive as it appears to have been misunderstood already by the public.
”People don’t know what becomes of their businesses which largely depend on foreign exchange for transaction. Banks are crying, Bureau De-Change (BDC) operators are crying and importers are also crying.
”There is need for the CBN to carry out adequate sensitisation of the public regarding this policy by way of explaining the policy and its benefits, otherwise, the nation’s economy may suffer for it.’’