Sponsors:
Sen. Gershom Bassey
The Senate:
AWARE that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) revised its cash withdrawal limits policy
by a circular issued on policy on 6th December 2022.
CONCERNED that the terms stipulated under the new policy are too restrictive and
raise security, economic, tax and technology concerns, with the bulk of the negative
impact channeled towards the informal sector of society.
FURTHER CONCERNED that by restricting over-the-counter, Point-of-Sale and
Automated Teller Machine (ATM) cash withdrawals to N100,000 per week for
individuals and N500,000 per week for organisations, many business owners, petty
traders and individuals will be forced to hoard large amounts of cash, leaving them
exposed to theft, violence and loss-of-income.
RECOGNISES the Federal Government’s need to curb vote buying ahead of the
upcoming 2023 general elections and control the amount of cash in circulation.
CERTAIN that despite this need, the Federal Government has an obligation to
businesses and Nigerians to ensure that such financial policies, with direct economic
implications, are thoroughly
ACCORDINGLY, THIS SENATE RESOLVES TO
- Mandate the Senate Committees on Banking, Insurance and other Financial
Institution; and Finance to conduct a detailed evaluation of the CBN’s
withdrawal limit policy and assess its potential economic, tax and security
implications on Nigeria. - Mandate the Senate Committees on Banking, Insurance and other Financial
Institution; and Finance to invite the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria to
appear before the Committees within 24hrs to:
a. explain the macro economic implications of the aforementioned policy;
and
b. address the concerns regarding the CBN’s economic model for proper
adaptation of this policy by financial institutions and other stakeholders.
