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CBN Weak Enforcement Driving Seasonal Cash Scarcity Across Nigeria- CHRICED
The group is saying that such weak enforcement by the nation’s apex bank accounts for the numerous sharp practices in the sector, which have caused Nigerians untold hardship, one of which is the seasonal scarcity of the Naira.
Comrade Ibrahim M. Zikirullahi, Executive Director of CHRICED stated this on Tuesday during an end-of-the-year press briefing on the state of the nation, held in Abuja.
During this Yuletide, citizens across many urban centres, found it difficult to get cash at the banks, as Point-of-Sale, PoS operators made mince meat of the people, charging outrageous sums to provide cash to those who needed them.
The CHRICED boss, who said the recent resurgence of cash scarcity serves as evidence of a return of the painful experiences faced by many Nigerians during the Buhari administration, regretted that under the Tinubu administration, the situation appears to have taken a turn for the worse.
This, he said, was because citizens find themselves in a position where they must purchase Naira from Point of Sale (POS) operators as banks ration withdrawals and automated teller machines (ATMs) fail to dispense.
He insisted that it is inhuman and deeply irresponsible to further burden the struggling poor Nigerians with an additional seasonal scarcity of cash.
“We are aware of several CBN memos and directives to banks, but we are equally mindful of the lax sanctions on these banks, which allow impunity in the banking sector.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) must go beyond the mere release of instructions and guidelines and make extra efforts to implement its directives and bring banks to account.
“We welcome the ‘concerns’ expressed by the House Committee on banking regulations, but we urge the Committee to go beyond its usual ‘investigative ad-hoc committee’, which never results in a permanent solution to any problem,” he said.
Zikirullahi, who also spoke on the devaluating the Naira without protecting the poo, worried that at the beginning of the year 2024, the Naira, which was exchanged at approximately N900 to the US dollar, closed off at over N1,600 to the US dollar due to the floating policy of President Tinubu.
He noted that while the administration may have succeeded in tackling arbitrage associated with the controlled exchange rate, the new free market and floating policy have become the administration’s albatross.
According to him, floating the Naira immediately drove up the prices of imported goods and services, devastating small businesses and low-income households due to Nigeria’s import-dependent economy.
“As the Naira continues to weaken against the dollar, the cost of imported goods has also increased, taking many essential items further out of reach of poor Nigerians.
“The combined effects of the subsidy removal and the government’s floating exchange rate policy brought impoverishment to most of the Nigerian people. President Tinubu’s response is nothing short of shambolic! Sharing truckloads of rice and other staples to state governments brought no reprieve to the people. Just as the many handouts have not been accounted for by the different ministries, departments and agencies.
“We would like to remind the President that palliatives are short-term, immediate responses and cannot replace well-thought-out social protection policies and programs that are urgently required to tame the spread of hunger and inequality.
“The government inherited 133 million multi-dimensionally poor Nigerians. With the devastation brought by the twin policy of subsidy removal and exchange rate floating, it is clear that the President and his cabinet never thought through these policies.
“Neither do they have any clear plan for protecting the 133 million vulnerable, multi-dimensionally poor population the administration inherited from former President Buhari.
“We are concerned that as more Nigerians get hauled into poverty, unemployment, hunger, and malnutrition are likely to escalate with severe consequences for health spending, education, and public safety and stability in the country,” he said.
