Economic experts have said that the Central of Nigeria, CBN, revised policy on cash withdrawals is a heavy blow to looters of government funds, kidnappers and fraudsters.
A breakdown of CBN’s revised guidelines on the practical implementation of the naira redesign policy stated that starting from 9th January 2022, Automated Teller Machines, ATM/ Point of Sales, and POS withdrawals would be limited to N20,000 Per Day.
The notification also disclosed that Automated Teller Machines, ATM, will dispense N200 and downward denominations, and defaulters of maximum deposit limit will have to pay 5 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, as charges.
It added that OTC withdrawal wouldn’t be more than N100,000 per individual and N500,000 per corporate organization, and Third Party Cheques over N50,000 would not be cleared over the counter.
It was learnt about the directive in a letter by CBN’s director of banking supervision, Haruna Mustafa, to all Deposit Money Banks, other financial institutions, primary mortgage banks and Microfinance banks on Monday.
Speaking to newsmen in his reaction to the newly released guidelines on cash withdrawals, a don of Accounting and Financial Development at Lead City University, Ibadan, Prof Godwin Oyedokun, said only looters of Government treasury would fault the policy.
He explained that the policy is not targeted at the poor and may likely not affect rural dwellers.
He said, “If I say I don’t expect this, I will be deceiving myself, but the magnitude of the cash contraction is shocking. I didn’t expect it to be this lower in terms of volume. It is not targeted towards the poor; nobody should blackmail this initiative because of their self-interest. People that couldn’t afford food and still have N20,000 cash in their pocket, and you still rank them as poor people? The answer is no; anyone handling 20,000 is no longer lacking in terms of basic needs.
I give you an example that couldn’t afford food would have N20,000 cash in their pocket, and you still rank them as poor people? The answer is no if anyone handling 20,000 is no longer lacking in terms of basic needs.
Also, an economic expert, Dr Boniface Chizea, urged CBN to carry out mass enlightenment in unbanked areas for effective implementation.
He disclosed that the policy would halt random payment in cash by kidnappers and restore sanity to the nation’s currency if implemented.
He added that the Federal Government and relevant stakeholders must address the issue of inadequate telecommunications networks in some areas.
