Governors of the 36 States have faulted the recent directive by the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) banning banks from executing demands for cash withdrawals from all public accounts.
The Governors, at a virtual meeting held on January 19, noted that the ban was beyond the powers conferred on the NFIU by law.

They argued, in a communiqué made available early on Saturday by the secretariat of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), that NFIU acted outside its legal remit and mandate.

In the communique signed by the NGF Chairman, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, the NGF expressed some reservations about the recent monetary policies introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), particularly the redesigned naira notes.

The NGF elected to constitute a committee, to be headed by a former CBN governor and Governor of Anambra State, Prof Charles Soludo to engage the CBN “in addressing anomalies in the country’s monetary management and financial system.”

Part of the communique reads: “We, the members of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), received a briefing from the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr Godwin Ifeanyi Emefiele, on the naira edesign, 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.

“In the circumstances, governors expressed the need for the CBN to consider the peculiarities of states, especially as they pertain to financial inclusion and under-served locations.”

The NGF members “resolved work closely with the CBN leadership to ameliorate areas that require policy variation, particularly the poorest households, the vulnerable in society and several other citizens of our country that are excluded.”

They also agreed to “collaborate with the CBN and the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) in advancing genuine objectives within the confines of our laws, noting that the recent NFIU advisory and guidelines on cash transactions were simply outside the NFIU’s legal remit and mandate.”

Member agreed to “set up a six-member committee to be Chaired by the Governor of Anambra State, Professor Charles Soludo and the governors of the following States: Akwa Ibom, Ogun, Borno, Plateau and Jigawa as members, to engage the CBN in addressing anomalies in the country’s monetary management and financial system.”

The Director and Chief Executive Officer, NFIU, Haman Tukur had on January 5 argued that the ban on cash withdrawals was meant to halt the indiscriminate manner in which cash was being taken out of public accounts without regard for the extant provisions of the Money Laundering Act.

Tukur said the ban, scheduled to take effect from March 1, covers cash withdrawal from public accounts and payment of estacodes and travelling allowances.

He added that the ban, contained in NFIU’s new guidelines, also apply “to all foreign missions operating in Nigeria, accounts of all development partner institutions, and the accounts of all instituted funds in form of independent funds to be operated as mutual funds such as insurance funds, cooperative funds, brokerages funds, political party funds or pressure group/union funds, once the funds are designated to exist as funds or to operate independently for management and/or investment.

“By these guidelines, the local government N500,000 cash withdrawal limit with regards to public accounts and instituted funds are hereby discontinued.

“These guidelines supersede and repeal the N500,000 cash withdrawal limit of local government funds and also, since it is for a criminal purpose, supersedes the CBN’s Regulation on cash withdrawal limit with regard to public accounts and instituted funds.”

The NFIU warned that defaulters that withdraw cash from public accounts risk collaborative investigation by the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC).

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