Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), is currently before the house of representatives ad hoc committee on the currency redesign and naira swap policy.
The CBN governor had ignored previous invitations from the lawmakers prompting the house to threaten a warrant of arrest against him.
Mr. Emefiele while addressing the committee explained that he had been out of the country hence his failure to honour previous invitations.
Speaking about the redesign of the naira, he said the CBN’s actions were in line with international best practices and the apex bank has to be in control of the currency in circulation.
Mr. Emefiele said in 2015 N1.4 trillion was in circulation, and by last year it had risen to N3.33 trillion.
The 61-year-old agreed that the policies would hurt some persons but claimed it was in the interest of the country especially in combating insecurity.
After sustained public outcry and criticism from key stakeholders, the CBN on Sunday extended the deadline for the swap of old naira notes at commercial banks by 10 days.
Announcing the development after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, the CBN governor said the new deadline is February 10, 2023.
However, Nigerians will still be able to deposit their old notes directly with the CBN until February 17, 2023, described as a “grace period”.
Nigerians had been complaining about the inability to swap their old notes for the new designs as the January 31 deadline loomed.
The naira redesign is believed to be targeted at stopping vote buying in the 2023 general election scheduled for February 25 and March 11.
Recall that on Thursday, Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house, said he will issue a warrant to the inspector-general of police (IGP) to compel the attendance of the CBN to respond to the summon of the house on Tuesday (today).
Emefiele is currently before the lawmakers in the company of top officials of the CBN, including Kingsley Obiora, deputy governor, economic policy directorate.
