Rights Activist Criticises CBN’s Cashless Policy

A social crusader, Paul Amadi, has described the new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) cashless policy as destructive, saying it could create problems for millions of Nigerians.

In an interview with newsmen, Amadi blasted the apex bank over her announced cap or limit it would place on individuals and businesses who use ATMs to withdraw their money, insisting that the government does not have such power. 

“Money is part of people’s property and government cannot infringe on citizens’ civil rights,” he said.

He questioned the whole idea of the government even thinking about citizens’ money and attempting to dictate to them how to spend that money. “Like always, this is only going to affect the poor masses. 

“The rich and powerful would always find ways to overcome this move. It is an idea one finds in totalitarian, socialist nations, not a free market economy, free democratic society like Nigeria. 

“It works against the economy no matter what the bank thinks it is going to achieve. Western nations even make loans and money available in multiple ways to their citizens to spend so as to generate demand and supply. But here we are with our own government trying to suppress demand for an economy that is struggling to stabilise instead of encouraging it,” he queried.

He said the United States came up with the new colour for 100 dollar-bills over ten years now, and has since been slowly phasing out the old bills but lamented that Nigerians act like autocrats.

Amadi further said that Nigeria cannot have a policy that restricts individuals from spending their money, even the old notes. 

“The central bank setting of a date requiring Nigerians to deposit all their old notes is unlawful,” he added. 

He argued that “as long as it is our government printed, real money, banks are obligated to accept them as they are still legal tenders. There is nothing like an open-ended timeframe. We have Nigerians who are out of the country and visit once in years. They keep money at home for emergencies, and to tell them that their money expired seems to me an economic illiteracy. Money does not expire.”

He said businesses have a million reasons to spend and cannot be restricted by any policy, emphasizing that such policies undermine the economy and the CBN is not helping the nation with the new policy.