FG to halt excess cash withdrawal from public accounts, says NFIU

By Onome Amuge

The federal government is putting all necessary measures in place to stop excess cash withdrawals from federal, state and local government accounts.

Modibbo  Tukur, the director and chief executive officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), made the disclosure at a recent parley with Mahmood Yakubu, the Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

Tukur noted that  Section 1 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act is automatically activated, due to the consistent devaluation of the naira and introduction of a new naira policy.

Citing a statement to that effect, signed by Ahmed Dikko, NFIU’s chief media analyst,, Tukur said that most cash withdrawals from government accounts, including payments for estacode, were often in excess of the limit provided by the Money Laundering Act.

This, he said, makes innocent public servants liable to imprisonment. He added that NFIU is already developing an advisory to the secretary to the government of the federation, all governors and council chairmen, directing all public servants to open domiciliary and naira accounts prior to the commencement of the policy, which becomes compulsory by law.

The NFIU director further noted that governors and council chairmen will also need to organise training for market men and women on how to use Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) and Point of Sales (POS) services.

He also refuted reports that the unit is set to block federal government accounts in January 2023.