The House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee on New Naira Re-Design and Naira Swap Policy has said the current crisis over the naira redesign by the Central Bank of Nigeria is capable of frustrating the forthcoming 2023 general elections.
The committee also criticised the action of President Muhammadu Buhari on the crisis as leaving “much to be desired.”
Majority Leader of the House and the committee’s Chairman, Alhassan Ado-Doguwa, made this known in a statement he issued on Friday, about 24 hours after leading member of the committee to a meeting with Buhari at the Presidential Villa.
The committee had commenced investigation on the controversy over the redesign of N1,000, N500 and N200 notes by the CBN, especially the scarcity of the new notes while the old ones were rendered invalid by the CBN.
The panel had also grilled several relevant stakeholders, including the Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, and representatives of Deposit Money Banks.
Though the Senate and the House had closed for the elections, the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, had hinted that members might be recalled to take decisions if the crisis persists.
Rather than report back to the House on the outcome of its investigations, the panel had met with Buhari on Thursday, a few hours after the president made a televised address to the nation. In the address, the president had declared that the old N1,000 and N500 notes ceased to be legal tender, while extending the validity of the old N200 note till April 10, 2023.
