By Emma Ujah, EMMAN OVUAKPORIE & BEN AGANDE
ABUJA — Fresh debt challenges await returning former Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, as the Federal Government debt portfolio has, again, hit $ 37 billion.

This came as the House of Representatives yesterday summoned the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to appear before the House tomorrow to explain why the apex bank is embarking on a N150,000 daily cash withdrawal limit for individuals and N1 million for corporate customers

However, Director-General of the Debt Management Office, DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, told journalists at a forum with a Zimbabwean debt management delegation, in Abuja, yesterday, that the nation’s debt remained sustainable.

He said: “The debt/GDP ratio of the nation is about 19 per cent which is an indication that the  nation is still far less below the 40 per cent debt/GDP ration threshold.”

The bulk of the current $37 billion debt is domestic, as external debt, mainly concessionary, is in the region of $ 5 billion.

The domestic debt consists mainly of payment of arrears owed government contractors over a long period of time, especially since the 1980s and 1990s which would require a strategy by the new National Economic Management Team to be led by Dr. Okonjo-Iweala.

Dr. Nwankwo said the DMO was prepared to assist Zimbabwe to build capacity and strategy towards securing debt relief that would enable the Southern African nation escape the current $ 8 billion debt.

Reps summon Sanusi over daily cash withdrawal limit

Meanwhile, the CBN governor will appear before the House of Representatives tomorrow to explain why the apex bank is introducing ceiling of N150,000 daily cash withdrawal for individuals and N1million for corporate customers.

Rep Aliyu Yakubu,representing Nangere/Potiskum in Yobe, who moved a motion on the issue argued that it would cause undue hardship to citizens of the country.

The lawmaker expressed fears that “the policy will affect our local farmers and traders who do not have banks in their localities and therefore not practicable during market days.”

Yakubu urged that the CBN should extend the deadline of six months to a minimum of one year to enable those communities imbibe the culture of banking and that the CBN should improve the Information Technology, IT, facilities for inter bank transactions to maximum time of 2 hours as against the  current 48 hours.

Rep Ogbuefi Ozomgbachi, former Chairman, House Committee on Banking and Currency, however, moved a motion that his three prayers should be deleted to reflect one prayer that the CBN Governor should be summoned to explain to the House the modalities and applicability of the proposed new banking policy.

His motion was seconded by Rep Jumoke Okoya representing Lagos Island 1 that she supported the motion for the amendment and it was unanimously agreed by members that the Governor of the apex bank should be summoned to appear on Thursday before the House for further explanation as raised in the motion.

It would be recalled that the apex bank had recently rolled out a proposed banking policy that restricts daily cash withdrawal for individuals to N150,000.00 and N1million to corporate bodies which attracted nation wide condemnation.

The sixth Senate had invited the CBN Governor before its demise to explain the practicability of the proposed policy which has drawn a lot of flaks from different segments of the country since it was pronounced.

Sanusi in his usual candour had stoutly defended the policy with the vigour with which he is known for that it would further grow the economy and checkmate capital flight from the country.