Amidst resistance by lawmakers and some economic experts, the Governor of Katsina State, Aminu Masari, on Saturday voiced support for the Central Bank of Nigeria’s policy limiting daily cash withdrawals saying, “It will help the economy.”
Masari spoke to journalists after a meeting with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), in his hometown of Daura, Katsina State.
Asked why state governors had not spoken about the policy, Masari said, “What is wrong with it except one who stockpiles millions in his house and is afraid to bring it?
“It will help the economy. Now, all the money has not been in the banking sector. The central bank governor said they had mopped up over N1tn into the banking sector, which was stashed in soakaways and other places.
“We believe that by the end of the transition to the new currency, the remaining trillions will be back in the banking sector. I think it is very good for the economy.”
Masari said he was visiting Buhari “to find out how he is coping with his two or three-day holiday here in his hometown, Daura, Katsina State. So, it’s essentially a private visit.”
The former Speaker of the House of Representatives boasted that the All Progressives Congress would have more votes than ever because it had worked and empowered Nigerians.
He said, “I think we will expect more votes for the APC here in Katsina State. The APC has performed well at the national, state and local government levels.
“We have done well in Katsina State; we have been able to touch the lives of millions of people in Katsina State; we have been able to have a presence in all the 361 wards of Katsina State and the social intervention has cut across and in Daura.
“You have seen the Federal Government’s presence in terms of the federal university, in terms of zonal hospital, in terms of federal polytechnic and many projects of urban renewal and urban development here in Daura and the surrounding communities.
“So, the APC has delivered in Katsina State and certainly, come the 2023 elections, Katsina State will be for the APC.”
