A six-member committee has been established by the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) to work with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to address issues with the nation’s monetary policy and financial system, particularly with the issuance of new Naira notes.
The forum made this disclosure in a statement released on Saturday following its virtual meeting with CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele on Thursday evening.
The committee is headed by Governor of Anambra State, Prof. Charles Soludo, with governors of Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Borno, Plateau, and Jigawa States as members, according to the communiqué signed by NGF Chairman, Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State.
The governors stated that although they supported the goals of the Naira redesign strategy, the apex bank should take into account the unique characteristics of households and states, particularly with regard to financial inclusion and underserved areas.
“We, the members of the NGF, received a briefing from the Governor of the CBN, Emefiele, on the Naira redesign, its economic and security implications including the new withdrawal policy.
“Governors are not opposed to the objectives of the Naira redesign policy.
“However, we observe that there are huge challenges that remain problematic to the Nigerian populace (concerning the new Naira notes).
“In the circumstances, governors expressed the need for the CBN to consider the peculiarities of states especially as they pertained to financial inclusion and under-served locations.”
The governors expressed readiness to work closely with the CBN leadership to ameliorate areas that required policy variation, particularly the poorest households, the vulnerable in society and several other Nigerians that were excluded.
The governors also resolved to collaborate with the CBN and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in advancing genuine objectives within the confines of the laws.
They, however, insisted that the recent NFIU Advisory and Guidelines on cash transactions were simply outside the NFIU’s legal remit and mandate.
