CBN introduced cash withdrawal limits to punish politicians - Gov Fintiri

Nurudeen Shotayo 11:34 - 10 December 2022

Gov-Umaru-Fintiri-of-Adamawa

The governor cautioned against such policies and tasked holders of key national institutions to act in the overall national interest.

The Governor of Adamawa State, Ahmadu Fintiri, has alleged that the new cash withdrawal limits policy introduced by the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was for the latter to pursue a personal vendetta against the Nigerian political class.

Recall that controversies have trailed the announcement made by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, that daily cash withdrawal for individuals will be limited to N20,000 daily and N100,000 weekly, while that of corporate bodies has been pegged at N500,000 per weekly.

Reacting to the new monetary policy, the Adamawa state governor who spoke during a campaign engagement in Kala’a, Hong Local Government Area, said it was evident that Emefiele was out to punish the political.

Explaining further, Fintiri said the policy came shortly after the CBN Governor's foray into politics was prematurely truncated, which could only mean that it was a retaliatory move, given that the policy was likely to worsen poverty among the citizens.

Fintiri's words: “What is breeding poverty? Economic policies. Look at the one that is about to be implemented by the Central Bank which would further throw the country into poverty. Nobody is saying the economy shouldn’t be cashless. Take time and do it systematically. We shouldn’t do it as if some people wanted to be politicians and they were denied the opportunity, then they use their office to punish the politicians.”

The governor, therefore, cautioned against such policies and tasked holders of key national institutions to act in the overall national interest.

Fintiri also re-echoed his earlier call to President Muhammadu Buhari to amend the constitution to allow for a true federal system where states are allowed to take full control of revenues and by so doing assure autonomy for the third tier of government.

Fintiri's words: “If we are talking about governors diverting funds, we expect the government to correct the anomaly by sponsoring an amendment to the Nigerian constitution to separate the office of the accountant general of the federation from the accountant general of the federal government so that funds belonging to local government and the state would not also be converted by the federal government because what the governors’ are being accused of, the Federal Government can equally be accused of doing same ten times over."