ABUJA  – Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Ni­geria (CBN), has declared the apex bank’s commit­ment to a positive outcome of the 2023 general elec­tion, saying that the bank will not allow itself to be used in any way to scuttle the election.

The CBN governor gave the assurance when he re­ceived a delegation from the Independent Nation­al Electoral Commission (INEC) led by its Chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu.

Against the cash crunch that greeted the naira swap policy of the CBN as dead­line looms, the INEC chair­man has sought support of the apex bank for waivers on cash withdrawals to en­able INEC to settle service providers and transport­ers.

Tracing the relationship between INEC and CBN through several electoral cycles, Emefiele noted that the two government agen­cies have collaborated even before his appointment as governor, a relationship he said has not shown any signs of decline.

“The relationship be­tween INEC and the cen­tral bank dated back even before I became CBN gov­ernor and I will say that this relationship is one that borders purely on trust and confidence. And we appre­ciate, truly appreciate the fact that INEC, supported by the Nigerian people, has the confidence and trust in the capability of the CBN to play the role we have played for you and through you, to the Nigerian public to ensure that our elections hold without hitches.

“I will now be specific. Before now, we have been involved in the storage of election materials. Before now, we have been involved in not just the storage but in the distribution of the electoral materials using our bullion vans and ar­moured bullion vans in transporting those elector­al materials. We are happy that in the course of this re­lationship we have not dis­appointed you and that is the reason you have come again this time”.

The CBN governor said the apex bank has also been forthcoming in supporting the electoral body in real­ising its mandate, citing a recent case where the apex bank provided need­ed foreign exchange for the procurement of election material, among them the Bimodal Voter Accredita­tion System (BVAS).

He, therefore, assured INEC that it will as well make cash available for the electoral body to set­tle service providers and transporters who will be moving electoral materials from area council to regis­tration areas and polling units.

“Because we consider INEC operation as topmost and urgent national assign­ment that cannot fail, the central bank will not allow itself either to be used, or be seen as an agent that frustrated a positive out­come at the election.

“I know that just a few months ago, I visited your office and you raised the issue of how foreign ex­change can be procured for you to import BVAS and other forms of election material that need to be im­ported. And I gave you my word that foreign exchange will be provided for that purpose. I stand here to confirm that as at today, all dollar that is needed to im­port those items have been provided and those items have been imported.”

Prof. Yakubu in his pre­sentation stressed the need for INEC to settle some of its obligation to service providers in cash.

“In line with the provi­sions of extant laws and regulations, service pro­viders are generally paid by means of electronic transfer to their accounts. However, there are equal­ly critical areas such as transportation and human support services that have to be immediately remu­nerated either partially or in full before services are rendered. In addition, emergency situations may arise requiring immediate cash payments. Some of the critical service pro­viders are unbanked. Over the years, we have worked with the CBN and com­mercial banks to pay for such services seamlessly during general elections as well as off-cycle and bye-elections.

“In view of the recent policy involving the rede­sign of some denomina­tions of our national cur­rency, and the limits placed on cash withdrawals, we consider this meeting im­portant in addressing some of the areas of concern with just 17 days to the 2023 general election.

“We are confident that arising from this meeting, we can assuage the anxiety expressed by some of our service providers. We are determined to make the 2023 general election one of the best organised elec­tions in Nigeria but we can­not do it alone. That is why the commission is mobilis­ing every critical national institution for the success of the election. This meet­ing is part of this effort”.