A founding member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Osita Okechukwu, has commended the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Yemi Cardoso, for sanctioning nine Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) for failing to make Naira notes available during the last Yuletide season.
He applauded the apex bank on Wednesday in Abuja while speaking with newsmen for halting what he described as the “banditry” of the DMBs.
The former Director-General of the Voice of Nigeria (VON) argued that it was an act of banditry for DMBs to deliberately deny cash over the counter and at Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), thereby frustrating Nigerians, especially during an auspicious season like Christmas.
According to him, “Daniel has come to judgment, as the CBN fined the Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) N1.35 billion for failing to make Naira notes available through Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) during the Yuletide season. Its height of banditry is simple and short, as it denied many Nigerians rice on their table.”
Read Also: Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde denies fleeing U.S. due to Los Angeles wildfires
Okechukwu urged the CBN Governor to dig deeper, as he alleged that banks have many other fault lines which have undermined the laudable programme of the previous administration and, if not curbed, will derail the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He appealed to the CBN Governor to critically re-examine the multifaceted DMB fault lines that have engendered high inflation and economic hardship.
The CBN, in a statement on Tuesday night through the Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Mrs. Hakama Sidi Ali, announced the sanction on the nine banks with a threat to impose further sanctions on any institution found violating its cash circulation guidelines.
The affected nine banks were fined N150 million each for non-compliance with the CBN’s cash distribution guidelines.