Domiciliary Act: Reps summon Emefiele

The House of Representatives yesterday summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, over  the bank’s decision to ban deposit of foreign currencies into domiciliary accounts.

The invitation followed a motion on Matters of Urgent Public Importance brought by Hon. Emmanuel Ekon from Akwa Ibom on the “Need For the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to address the House on the CBN’s foreign exchange policy on rejection of foreign currency deposits by commercial banks in Nigeria”.

The lawmaker said though   by virtue of the provisions of Section 12 of the CBN Act of 2007, the bank is conferred with statutory powers and responsibilities to formulate monetary and credit policies for the country, the recent policy decision of the bank is already inflicting untold hardships on Nigerians and manufacturers.

He noted that: “Though, the policy may have both short and long-term economic benefits for the country, Nigerians do not have any explanation from the CBN on the merit and otherwise of the said policy and has not created avenues to address the fears of parents wishing to remit money abroad for their children’s education of manufacturers placing orders for goods abroad.

“The explanation of the said policy to members of the House by the Governor of the Central Bank will enable members to disseminate the information on the said policy to their respective constituents and thereby leverage on the enlightenment drive of the CBN on the necessity of the said policy”, Ekon said.

He added, “if the CBN fails to give proper explanations and carry out proper enlightenment of the said policy to Nigerians, it may appear unpopular, counter-productive and grossly misunderstood by the general populace”.

“Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of panic within the economy as we speak. People don’t  know what becomes of their businesses which largely depend on foreign exchange for transaction. Banks are crying, Bureau de-change operators are crying, importers are also crying.

“There is the need for the CBN to carry out adequate sensitization of the public regarding this policy by way of explaining reasons behind this policy and its benefits or otherwise to the nation’s economy may suffer for it”, he said.

The motion was, however, challenged by a Point of Order raised by Hon. Chidoka from Anambra, saying that the motion was unnecessary as its concerns would be addressed when the CBN governor appears before the Senate which had already summoned him on the state of the economy.

Speaker Yakubu Dogara, however, intervened, stressing the need for such an interaction with the CBN’s management for the purpose of informing Nigerians.