According to reports, the head of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Nigerian public employees will not be permitted to withdraw money from government bank accounts beginning in March.
The Nigerian Presidency must grant a dispensation to public officials who seek to be exempt from this new rule.
Beginning March 1, Nigerian government employees won’t be allowed to withdraw money from government accounts, according to Modibbo R. Hamman Tukur, head of the NFIU.
The new regulation, which is said to be applicable to federal, local, and state officials, aims to combat the widespread corruption and money laundering in the public sector.
Additionally, a Reuters report stated that the new regulation is in line with the Nigerian government’s ambition to establish a cashless society.
Due to their exposure to cash withdrawals from public accounts, civil officials are becoming more and more susceptible to money laundering and the predicate crimes that go along with it.
Tukur’s claims were supported by the report, which stated that an investigation by the NFIU, an independent division of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), had revealed that between 2015 and 2022, officials removed money equivalent to $2.45 billion from government accounts.
Tukur added that officials will have to request a waiver from the president in cases where money is required.
The CBN has also imposed cash withdrawal restrictions on both businesses and private citizens.
Recently, according to reports, the bank also gave banks instructions to halt over-the-counter cash withdrawals of the new banknotes.
Along with restricting the usage of cash, the CBN wants to encourage people to adopt its own central bank digital currency.