Respite as Governors Get April 15 Deadline to Access Security Votes

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

Relief was believed to have come the way of the 36 state governors as the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) has extended the deadline for cash withdrawal for security votes by the governors to April 15.

The decision to grant an extension according to a reliable source, was arrived at after intense negotiations at the last meeting between the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) and the economic and security agencies.

The NGF recently met with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN).

THISDAY gathered that the April 15 deadline was ratified at a special virtual meeting convened by the NFIU with the NGF on Tuesday.

Also discussed in the meeting attended by the EFCC and ICPC, was the naira redesign policies and the controversies it attracted.

The source told THISDAY that: “The governors were informed of the April 15 deadline ahead of Tuesday meeting,” adding that the NFIU would be interested in knowing the position of the governors.

“They (The state governors) can withdraw cash for security vote up to April 15. The NFIU will wait to hear what the governors will have to say. The extension is granted only for security votes. The NFIU is not saying they should not spend their money but only that they should do it online,” he said.

Apart from the cash withdrawal extension, the source disclosed that those at the meeting, “looked at a lot of issues that concern the financial system.”

But the governors are likely to reject the short extension because they believed the agency lacks the power to determine how security votes should be disbursed, the source added.

The governors were instrumental to the CBN, a key participant in the meeting, walking back all the decisions it took in the wake of the naira redesign policy.

The NFIU had in January 2023, given a March 1 deadline for the end of cash withdrawals from all public accounts.

The Supreme Court had ordered a return of the old N200, N500 and N1,000 notes after the cash crunch induced by the naira redesign policy led to a nationwide outrage which literally brought the nation down on her knees.

At the time of filing this report, a communique from the NGF was being expected.