Nigeria goes cashless from March 1, says NFIU CEO, Tukur

All government transactions will be carried out on the basis of electronic transfer if the amount exceed the approved daily withdrawals by the Central Bank of Nigeria under the new monetary policy, the Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial and Intelligence Unit, NFIU, Modibbo Tukur, announced this in Abuja on Thursday.

Modibbo said that under the guidelines, only the President can give a waiver for any cash above the approved daily threshold to be withdrawn for any urgent or emergency reasons.

The NFIU therefore directed federal, state and local governments in the country to put necessary measures in place to ensure the smooth operationalization of the new policy.

In particular, the different tiers of government are to deploy technology and train their staff to be able to apply the new policy from the stipulated date.

Modibbo said, “With the implementation of this guideline, Nigeria has been taken into a non-cash economy with effect from March 1, 2023”.

Modibbo disclosed that despite the introduction of the cash withdrawal limits in the country, state governments withdraw a total of N701 billion cash above the N225 billion withdrawn by the federal government and N156 billion withdrawn by the local governments in the country between 2015 to date.