House of Representatives member-elect for Ideato North and South Federal constituency, Ikenga Ugochinyere, has commended the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele for complying with Supreme Court ruling as well as directing commercial banks and other financial institutions to continue to accept old naira notes till December 31, 2023.
CBN, had on Monday, directed all financial institutions to continue to accept and pay out the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes till December 31, 2023, in line with the Apex Court ruling.
Ugochinyere who’s also the Spokesman of Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP) in a statement made available to Blueprint on Tuesday while commending the CBN, accused some bank Chief Executive Officers, managers of hoarding the new notes for political reasons.
He described as saddening the long queues at the banks as people helplessly wait to withdraw money, “while managers of banks are helping money-bag politicians to get the new notes.”
While calling for all sides to move on, the reps-elect called for probe of circumstances regarding hoarding of the new naira notes.
He said, “It’s commendable that the CBN in compliance with the rule of law directed deposit money banks operating in Nigeria to comply with the Supreme Court ruling of March 3, 2023, by accepting and pay out the old N200, N500, and N1,000 notes till December 31, 2023.
“Nigerian citizens are yearning for the best and should not be made to suffer more hardships, hence managers of banks who are found to hoard the new naira notes to create artificial scarcity, but are behind the public arena helping money-bag politicians to get the new notes, set the public up against the CBN’s new policy; such banks and bankers should be investigated, and if found culpable be made to face the wrath of the law.”
