Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, on Tuesday, met with the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, over the new naira policy.
In his courtesy visit to the CBN, Yakubu expressed concern about the new naira policy and how it might affect the 2023 general election if not managed.
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Yakubu said service providers would be needed for the forthcoming election and need to be paid fully or partly, adding that there were fears about the withdraw limits.
The INEC boss said;
The Nigerian election is a huge and complex one. It requires the engagement of critical services and in line with the provisions of the exchange laws and regulations, service providers are generally paid by means of electronic transfer to their accounts. However, there are crucial areas such as transportation and human support services that have to be immediately enumerated either partially or in full because services are rendered.
In addition, emergency situations may arise that require immediate cash payments. Over the years, we have worked with the CBN, commercial banks to pay for such services seamlessly during general elections, off-cycle and bye-elections. Over the years, the Commission has migrated all its accounts at national and state levels to CBN and this arrangement has worked without hindrances to our activities.
In view of the recent policy involving the redesigning of some denomination of our currencies and the limit on cash withdrawals and availability, we consider this meeting important in addressing some of our areas of concern with just 17 days to the 2023 general election. We are confident that an aspect of this meeting will reduce the anxiety expressed by some of our service providers. We are determined to make the 2023 general election one of the best elections in Nigeria but we cannot do it alone.
