EKO HOT BLOG reports that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has threatened to invoke the provisions of section 89(D) of the 1999 Constitution as amended to compel the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emiefele to appear before the House.
Gbajabiamila said instead of the House adjourning plenary till February 28 for the elections as planned, the lawmakers would reconvene on Tuesday to take an action against Emefiele and other bank chiefs who fail to show up.
The Speaker, who noted that Emefiele is his friend, pointed out that he would not hesitate to demand the Inspector-General of Police to effect the CBN governor’s arrest and forceful appearance before the House.
Section 89 gives the parliament power to issue a warrant of arrest on anybody who refuses to honour an invitation from them.
The House at plenary on Tuesday set up an ad-hoc committee to interface with the CBN and Managing Directors of Banks on the scarcity of the redesigned naira notes and cashless policy while asking the apex bank to extend the deadline for deposit of the old notes by six months.
Neither the Governor of the CBN nor his representative honoured the House invitation for a meeting by 3.00 pm on Wednesday, prompting another invite for Thursday.
A letter read on the floor of the House on Thursday by the Speaker and signed by CBN’s Deputy Governor, Corporate Services said Emefiele will not honour the invitation because he was part of President Buhari’s delegation to Dakar, Senegal.
Reacting to the letter from the apex bank, Gbajabiamila said though the CBN Governor was a personal friend, he and other members of the House have a constitutional duty to perform.
He said the refusal of the CBN Governor to honour the invitation or send a representative to the House was not acceptable, adding the bank must attend the meeting summoned by the House before the close of business on Thursday.
He said if the bank fails to honour the invitation of the House to discuss a policy, which has caused serious hardship to Nigerians, he will be forced to invoke the provisions of the constitution to issue a warrant of arrest asking the Inspector General of Police to compel the CBN Governor to honour the House invitation.
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