THE Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila says the lawmakers may reconvene if the hardship occasioned by the naira swap continues.
While the lawmakers are on break and are expected to resume after the general elections, the scarcity of the new naira notes and the attendant consequences may force the House of Representatives to reconvene, according to Gbajabiamila.
“Many have argued on the independence of CBN, the autonomy of CBN. That does not make CBN above the law. The constitution gives the House the power to issue an arrest warrant against anyone, we can summon anybody, and that was exactly what the House was going to do until the CBN governor came,” Lanre Lasisi, his media aide, quoted the Speaker as saying during a town hall meeting with some ethnic groups in Surulere, Lagos, on Sunday.
“So, we are watching, and we are monitoring very closely. If need be, we will reconvene the House, even though we’ve all been away for our elections. I will call the House back if need be.”
According to him, the House made several efforts to intervene in the naira swap crisis by inviting the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele.
“We summoned the CBN governor the first time and again, but he refused to answer because we had many hard questions for him,” the Speaker added.
“It was until I issued the threat of warrant of arrest before he came, and I would’ve signed that warrant; it would’ve been the first time in the history of the National Assembly that a CBN governor would be arrested. I would’ve done it.”
Gbajabiamila, who lamented the situation, said the development is causing hardship to Nigerians.
“Many are suffering, we have paid your salary, and you cannot withdraw it; people cannot eat, what kind of thing is that?” he wondered.
He hailed the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Bola Tinubu for voicing out over the hardship triggered by CBN’s move.
“There’s one man who is running for president of this country, and that man has courage and audacity. This man came out boldly and identified the problem, that the fifth columnists, in cooperation with the PDP, are the ones trying to sabotage this election,” the lawmaker said.
“If nothing changes, we will intervene again, but be sure of one thing: that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu stands with you and stands with Nigerians in their suffering. He was the first to shout what is going on? He has cried, he has begged, he has screamed that people are suffering…”
