Economic experts have said that the Central of Nigeria, (CBN)’s revised policy on cash withdrawals is a heavy blow to looters of government funds, kidnappers and fraudsters.
Recall that the CBN’s revised guidelines on the practical implementation of the Naira redesign policy stated that starting from 9th January 2022, Automated Teller Machines (ATM) and Point of Sales (POS) withdrawals would be limited to N20,000 Per Day.
The notification also disclosed that ATMs will only dispense N200 and downward denominations, and that defaulters of the maximum deposit limit will have to pay 5 percent and 10 percent, respectively, as charges.
It added that over-the-counter (OTC) withdrawal wouldn’t be more than N100,000 per individual and N500,000 per corporate organisation and that Third Party Cheques over N50,000 would not be cleared over the counter.
Speaking, in his reaction to the newly released guidelines, a don of Accounting and Financial Development at Lead City University, Ibadan, Prof. Godwin Oyedokun, said only looters of the Government treasury would fault the policy. He explained that the policy is not targeted at the poor and may likely not affect rural dwellers.
According to him, “The policy 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”.
He said the policy will affect those charged with governance in this country; they have a lot of money to toy with. “The policy will reduce the volume of money in circulation and the capacity for the rich to spend anyhow”, emphasised.
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, especially rural areas.
“The challenge will be how these policy changes would affect the underbanked, particularly those in outlying areas of the country; because most of such folks have not been included and mainstreamed into the financial sector.
“There will be the urgent need for the Central Bank to embark on aggressive critical enlightenment, particularly as most of such compatriots might not have the luxury of using alternative transaction channels.
“There is the need to pay attention, so that network issues will be minimized.
“There is no doubt that these measures would push further down the road the desire to make the Nigerian economy truly cashless and, to that extent, impact the effectiveness of CBN’s many policy thrusts.
It should deal a heavy blow on criminality, particularly ransom payment. As it becomes increasingly difficult to find cash and as the awareness gains ground, some flawed individuals among us might be forced to change addresses for better productive engagements.
“We also expect that as cash is drained from the economy that this policy might reduce demand pressure for dollars, thereby impacting the exchange rates of the Naira positively. There is no doubt that there will be negative collateral consequences for those who deal largely in cash. Collections at churches and other prayer places where cash is the medium will be impacted negatively. There are many compatriots engaged in POS transactions that might also be affected. And therefore, there will be the inevitable need for adjustments and repositioning”.
“But a word of caution; the enemy is in effective implementation. Therefore, to say the obvious, the CBN has its job cut out and must be intentional about effective implementation”, he said.
