The Nigerian National Council of State (NCS) has ordered the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to take urgent steps to arrest the scarcity of cash across the nation.
CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele was advised to make new naira notes available or re-circulate old naira notes to ease the suffering of Nigerians.
Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami who was escorted. by Governors Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos) and Darius Ishaku (Taraba) briefed State House Reporters on outcomes of the meeting.
AG Malami told journalists that two major issues were deliberated upon at the meeting.
He said the NCS deliberated on the level of preparedness for the general elections. The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Mahmood Yakubu, and the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Alkali Baba, assured the nation’s leaders of sufficient readiness to conduct a hhitch-freepoll for nation.
On the new monetary policy, including the re-designing of some denominations of the naira, which evoked reactions, the Council concluded that the CBN should do more to ensure there is circulation of sufficient cash in the system to relieve the unnecessary pains people have so far gone through because of the policy.
“So by way of conclusion, the two major resolutions that were driven, arriving from the deliberations of the Council, are one that we are on course as far as election is concerned and we are happy with the level of preparation by INEC and the institutions,” Malami said.
“Two, relating to the naira re-designed policy, the policy stands, but then the Council agreed that there is need for aggressive action on the part of the Central Bank, as it relates to the implementation of the policy by way of ensuring adequate provision being made with regard to the supply of the naira in the system,” he said.
Bay States News 