Council of State endorses new cashless policy
… Urges CBN to recirculate old naira or print more new notes
The Council of State meeting, presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, gave its approval for the naira redesign policy but with a caveat that the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele, should make new Naira notes available or recirculate the old notes and allow the two to circulate concurrently to ease the tension caused by the scarcity of cash.
Briefing State House Correspondents after the meeting ,the Attorney General of the Federal, Abubakar Malami, who was flanked by Governor Darius Ishaku of Taraba State and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, said that the Council illuminated the need for aggressive action by the CBN to ensure adequate supply of the naira in the system for proper implementation of the policy.
Echoing submissions by the Council, Governor Ishaku stated that it proffered a number of suggestions to the President, particularly on the currency swap challenge which dominated discussions, following a debriefing from the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, and expressed the hope Buhari will make a decision soon.
On the 2023 elections, Malami also expressed the Council’s satisfaction with the level of preparation by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and other institutions.
The hybrid meeting which lasted for over four hours at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja, had in attendance former heads of state and president Gen. Yakubu Gowon (retd), Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar (retd) and Goodluck Jonathan, while former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, joined the meeting online.
Also present at the Chamber were the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo; the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
Governors in attendance were Nasir El-Rufai (Kaduna), Darius Ishaku (Taraba), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), and Babagana Zulum (Borno). Other governors that virtually attended were Ademola Adeleke (Osun), Abubakar Badaru (Jigawa), Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Aminu Tambuwal (Sokoto), Simon Lalong (Plateau) and the Deputy Governors Nasarawa and Bauchi states.
The Minister of the FCT, Mohammed Bello; Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha; Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele also attended the meeting.
The INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu was also physically in attendance and briefed the Council on preparations ahead of polls.
All Service Chiefs and Heads of security agencies were also physically present.
