In order for Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the central bank, to come before the committee looking into the withdrawal of old naira notes, the Speaker of the House of Representatives has threatened to order his detention.
After learning that Emefiele and others had declined the invitation to a meeting on Wednesday, Gbajabiamila made this statement on Thursday. The Majority Leader of the House at the time was Ado Doguwa.
Gbajabiamila responded to the claim by stating that he would not think twice about ordering Inspector General of Police Akali Baba to issue an arrest warrant for Emefiele in order to compel his appearance before the committee.
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Mr. Gbajabiamila said that the House should leave today to get ready for the elections, but they will stay to talk about the currency swap situation.
“I will not hesitate to give a warrant to the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force to force the attendance of the CBN or Managing Directors who fail, refuse, or fail to respond to the summons by the House of Representatives,” he said, citing the power given by Section 89 (1)(d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Order 19 (2)(1) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives.
He also said that Emefiele’s deadline went against Section 20 of the CBN Act, which said that banks had to keep taking old notes even after the deadline had passed.
Recall that on Thursday, during a rally, APC presidential candidate Bola Tinubu—who is regarded as the godfather of Gbajabiamila—also spoke out against the program.
According to Tinubu, the policy is intended to harm his bid for the presidency.
