Nigeria's Central Bank Withdrawal Limits To Cripple Campaign Funding

Political parties have kicked against the new cash withdrawal limits introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, stating that it could choke the political process. <br />Parties including the Peoples Democratic Party, Social Democratic Party, Africa Democratic Congress and African Democratic Party contended that the policy would affect the fundraising required by the candidates to sustain their campaigns ahead of the 2023 elections. <br />Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State had accused the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, of targeting the political class with the new cash withdrawal limit which restricts over-the-counter cash withdrawal by individuals and companies to N100,000 and N500,000, respectively, per week. <br />The CBN’s Director of Banking Supervision, Haruna Mustafa, says withdrawals above the thresholds would attract processing fees of five per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, for individuals and corporate entities going forward.