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By Lateef Adegbite And Elizabeth Chukwuma
With barely 60 days for President Muhammadu Bhari’s Administration to elapse, the Nigerian economy , which had been thrown into a mess by Godwin Emefiele , Governor , of Central Bank of Nigeria, appear to have realised that the electronic banking channels has failed.
Emefiele , who was forced to speak out after the Tuesday, March 21, 2023, Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meeting at the CBN, Headquarters at Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, had informed informed the MPC , members that electronic transactions through their mobile bank apps, SSD platforms and debit cards since the implementation of the naira redesign policy and subsequent cash shortage has failed’’.
The CBN, governor, who could not hide his feelings had attributed the failure ‘’to the deluge of the volume of online transactions that that had hit the nation’s banking industry over that last couple of months, stressing that the problem is being addressed.
He had said that that on a daily basis the apex bank payments system management department monitor the online payment platforms ‘’to make sure that when there is a downturn , they are quickly resolved so that transactions can go on smoothly’’.
Recall that prior to the implementation of the naira redesign policy, the Delta state born Banker, who has the ears of the Katsiina state born Nigerian President, who had said that there was about N3.23 trillion in circulation out of which N500 billion was held in the banking sector and N2.73 billion was outside the banking system. The Katsina state born Nigerian President had corroborated his words in his nation-wide broadcast last February.
The apex bank may have taken advantage of the MPC, meeting at the FCT, to give an insight on the supply of money in the country, stating that ‘’the implementation of the naira redesign policy has resulted in a reduction in currency in circulation outside the banking system’’.
He was said to have told the MPC, members that at present the currency in circulation is about a trillion naira , adding that the apex bank will continue to pump the newly redesigned currency into the market to give a breather to Nigerians.
The CBN, governor may have given Nigerians the impression that the bank is not in a hurry to pump much into the banking system as they need to reassess to know whether the currency in circulation has attained he optimal level that would help the bank put in place measures to ensure that the country do go back to where we were before where people kept money outside the banking system for their own benefits.
This may have informed why the bank has increased the benchmark interest rate to 18% and pegged the Liquidity ratio at 30% as a way to curtail inflation currently put at 20% by the Nigerian Bureau of Statics, NBS.
Notwithstanding the measures being put in place by the bank to revive the economy, the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, under the Leadership of Joe Ajaero, will not take it as the Organised Labour has directed all workers to protest at all the offices of the CBN , nationwide starting on Wednesday, March 29, 2023, over the current cash crunch in the country.
The NLC, Central Working Committee, CWC, , who are doing everything within their powers to ensure that the mass protest succeed in shutting down economic activities across the 36 states of the Federation and the FCT , were said to have started the mobilization for the exercise on Friday, March 24, 2023, were said to have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government , calling for immediate action ‘’to cushion the effect of the cash crunch and fuel scarcity crisis in the country’’ or face industrial action by workers.
An aggrieve Ajaero, the NLC, President , had told those that cares to listen that the industrial action became the last resort of the congress , having urged the Federal government through different channels to take into consideration the severe hardship workers and Nigerian citizens are experiencing on a daily basis because of the persistent cash crunch but nothing concrete was done to address it , except giving promises that were never kept.
Worried that the NLC, planned industrial action from Wednesday, March 29, 2023, may have forced the CBN, Athorities, at the instance of Buhari to direct the money deposit banks, MDB, across the country to open for operation on Saturdays and Sundays to dispense cash to Customers as a way to resolve the cash crunch problem in the country.
Isa AbdulMumin, the apex bank , acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, had said on Friday, March 24, 2023, that ‘’substantial amount of money, in various denominations, had been received by the MDBs, for onward circulation to their respective Customers’’.
The CBN, was said to have also directed the Commercial banks to load their automated Teller Machines, ATMs, as well as conduct physical operations in banking halls through the weekends. The apex bank spokesperson, has confirmed the evacuation of bank Notes from its vaults to Commecial banks across the country as part of the Coordinated effort to ease the circulation of the bank Notes of various denominations.
To ensure that the order was fully carried out to avoid playing into the hands of the Organised Labour, the CBN, he had said that Emefiele, the bank governor would ‘’personally lead teams to monitor the level of compliance by the banks in various locations across the country’’.
The Nigerian government appear to have been caught between the devil and the deep blue sea, over the NLC, threat to mobolise workers on strike that Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state and the Presidential Candidate of the Labour party, LP, in the just conclude 2023, Presidential election, Datti Baba-Ahmed, the Vice Presidential Candidate and the party leadership are allegedly being linked to the protest.
Appearing on a Live Programme on Channels Television,Festus Keyamo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, and minister of State, Labour and Employment ,had said that he had petitioned the Department of State Security, DSS, under the close watch of Ysuf Magaji Bichi, to invite the LP, Leaders over ‘’their rejection of the declaration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state and Presidential Candidate of the App Progressive Congress, , APC, for the 2023, general election as President-elect’’ by Prof Mahmood Yakubu, Chairman, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.
The minister had alluded to the fact that Obi, the LP, flag bearer, had claimed that he was, rigged out of victory, alleging’’ widespread violence,voters intimidation and suppression, during and after the elections’’. The Legal Luminary may have petitioned the DSS, to invite the LP, Leaders for questioning because of what he had perceived as a build up to something that they are doing’’.
Hear him: the buildup they are doing is to rile the people up and turn them against the judiciary’’, if the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, PEPT, set up by Justice Olukayode Ariwola, the Chief Justice of the Federation, fail to declare Obi and Baba-Ahmed, the LP, Presidential and Vice Presidential Candidate as the authentic winners of the Saturday, February 25, 2023, Presidential election.
Many believe that before Keyamo, who had served as spokesperson, of Tinubu/Shettima, Campaign Organisation, could come out to say that he had petitioned the DSS, to invite Obi, Baba-Ahmed and other LP Leaders for interrogation, over the alleged build up in the country, the APC, Leadership, including Buhari, and Tinubu, the President elect and their Legal tem, might have discussed and agreed on the line of action.
The fear in both official and unofficial circles was that Obi, Baba –Ahmed and other LP, Leaders may be arrested and detained by the DSS, and which will trigger crisis , in the country , that might further worsen the already battered economy and even draw the attention of the International Community to intervene. Let us hope that the tension in the country will not get to that.
