FG stops cash payment of estacode to workers

According to statements made by the federal government, steps are being taken to prevent cash withdrawals from bank accounts held by the federal government, states, and local governments.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Mahmud Yakubu, and the Director-General and Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, Modibbo Tukur, discussed this on Monday, according to a statement made by the NFIU’s chief media analyst, Ahmed Dikko, on Tuesday.

He said, “Because of the consistent devaluation of the naira and the introduction of a new naira policy, section 1 of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act is automatically activated.”

Furthermore, according to Tukur, the majority of cash withdrawals from government accounts, including payments for estacode, frequently exceed the cash withdrawal thresholds established by the Money Laundering Act.

He added that the NFIU was already working on an advisory for the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, all governors, and local government council chairmen to direct all public servants to open domiciliary and naira accounts prior to the start of the policy, which becomes mandatory by law. He claimed that this exposed innocent public servants to being exposed to being liable to imprisonment.

Tukur added that governors and council chairmen would need to provide training on how to use ATMs and point-of-sale systems for market men and women.

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