The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has warned that with only 16 days to the general elections, the new naira notes scarcity may disrupt the exercise.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, at a meeting with the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele at the CBN headquarters, Abuja, on Tuesday noted the importance of having sufficient cash available.
He explained that many service providers to INEC had no bank accounts.
He, therefore, solicited the support of the apex bank to address the concerns related to the CBN cash withdrawal policy which had caused chaos across the country.
The apex bank had last year pegged weekly cash withdrawal limits set for individuals and corporate organisations to N500,000 and N5 million, respectively.
It also introduced the currency redesign policy which involves the issuance of new N1000, N500 and N200 notes last December.
READ ALSO : DSS Documents Reveals CBN Gov, Emefiele Sponsors ‘Unknown Gunmen’ IPOB, ESN; Engages In Money Laundering
But explaining his concern to the CBN chief, Yakubu said the service providers needed to be paid fully or partly, adding that there were fears about the withdrawal limits.
“It is not just about cash and you have done electric and electronic payments before and if in this case after making your electronic payments, you require some money to pay transporters, in this case, cash,” he said.
Meanwhile, the National Security Adviser, Babagana Monguno, has assured Nigerians of a secured voting atmosphere, saying the security personnel were well prepared ahead of the poll.
Speaking while hosting the INEC chairman on Tuesday, the NSA noted, “We had several meetings with the chairman of INEC, the Inter-Agency Consultative Committee on Election Security, which I co-chair. We know what we have done. We are sure of what we have on the ground.
“All of us here who are the managers of security in the electoral process know what we are doing. We are not in any way in doubt but we need to let the entire country know that agents of bad news are peddling all kinds of stories we see on social media. If these are intended to scare people, I want to dispel such illusions.
“Everybody that is concerned in carrying out his legitimate undertaking, casting his or her vote will do so in a secure atmosphere. It’s very important that Nigerians are not pushed to the limit where they will abandon their number one responsibility as citizens. All security agencies are up to the task.”
On his part, the INEC chairman said the commission was confident that the recent security actions would further reassure voters, its officials, service providers and stakeholders of their safety during the election.
