INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu and CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele during a courtesy visit in Abuja
The Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele has promised to provide seamless cash needed for Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prosecute the 2023 general election.
The promise was in aftermath of the naira redesign policy of the present administration which restricted the withdrawal of money per day to certain amount.
Emefiele who received the INEC Chairman in his office on a working visit on Tuesday in Abuja, said the promise became necessary so that the CBN could not be seen to have sabotage the electoral process which is very important to Nigerians.
According to him, the relationship between CBN and INEC dated back to even before he became the Governor of CBN.
Emefiele said: “Even before you made these requests known to me, I had accepted them already. Even today the CBN had granted your earliest request on forex for the commission to import materials for the election. I want to announce to you that the CBN is in custody of these materials already.
“Election is a serious national assignment and I would not like Nigerians to blame the Central Bank for not supporting INEC on the success of the 2023 general election. The CBN has been supportive of INEC even before I became the CBN governor and I cannot do otherwise.”
Earlier, the INEC Chairman who visited the CBN in company of members of the Commission, said the meeting was to brainstorm on some of the areas of concern with just 17 days until the 2023 General Election.
He stated that INEC is encouraged by the continuing willingness of the apex bank to support the Commission’s determination to deliver credible elections on 25th February 2023 and 11th March 2023, particularly the facilitation of activities necessary for the success of the elections in an area where the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has exclusive responsibility.
According to him, “The Nigerian election is a huge and complex undertaking. It requires the engagement of critical services. In line with the provisions of extant laws and regulations, service providers are generally paid by means of electronic transfer to their accounts.
“However, there are equally critical areas such as transportation and human support services that have to be immediately remunerated either partially or in full before services are rendered. In addition, emergency situations may arise requiring immediate cash payments.
“Some of the critical service providers are unbanked. Over the years, we have worked with the CBN and commercial banks to pay for such services seamlessly during general elections as well as off-cycle and bye-elections. Over the years, the Commission has also migrated all its accounts at National and State levels to the CBN and this arrangement has worked without encumbrances to our activities”, he said.
Speaking further, Prof. Yakubu said, “We are confident that arising from this meeting, we can assuage the anxiety expressed by some of our service providers.
“We are determined to make the 2023 General Election one of the best organized elections in Nigeria but we cannot do it alone. That is why the Commission is mobilizing every critical national institution for the success of the election. This meeting is part of this effort”, he concluded.
