The Senate, yesterday, agreed to debate the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Policy on Cash Withdrawal Limit.

The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, disclosed this at plenary, yesterday, following a point of order by Sen. Olubunmi Adetunmbi (Ekiti North), who drew the attention of his colleagues to the absence of the Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, Sen. Uba Sani, from the chamber.

Similarly, feelers from the House of Representatives is already pointing to the possibility of the National Assembly restraining CBN from going ahead with the implementation of the policy.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, dropped the hint while delivering a lecture entitled ‘Delivering On Our Contract With Nigerians: Implementing The Legislative Agenda of the 9th House Of Representatives – Progress, Challenges and the Way Forward’.

Gbajabiamila had accused the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, of taking decisions on the policy without the input of the National Assembly, expressing fear that the policy could worsen the country’s economic situation.

Adetunmbi, who is also a member of the Senate committee, said the panel’s chairman was billed to present the report of the screening for the two CBN Deputy Governor-nominees, Mrs. Aishat Ahmad and Edward Adamu.

Ahmad and Adamu were recently reappointed by President Muhammadu Buhari, who requested the Senate’s screening and confirmation for their second and final tenure at the apex bank.

Ahmad, who is the CBN Deputy Governor on Financial System Stability, had explained details of the policy to the panel during the screening, last Friday, when she and her colleague appeared for screening.

Details of the explanation given by the CBN chief was to be presented for debate alongside the screening yesterday. But Adetunmbi said the debate could not take place because the panel chairman, who is the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate for Kaduna State, was in his state for the party’s presidential campaign.

His explanation did not go down well with Sen. Adamu Bulkachuwa (Bauchi North), who argued that the panel not submitting its report should not stop the debate on the cash withdrawal policy.

The Senate President ruled Bulkachuwa out of order and insisted that the matter would be debated today.