Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila of the House of Representatives has threatened to issue a bench warrant against Godwin Emefiele over his failure to appear before the parliament to take questions on recoloured naira notes and other contentious CBN policies.

The development comes a day after Bola Tinubu, Mr Gbajabiamila’s political godfather and presidential candidate for the ruling All Progressives Congress, accused the Buhari regime of deliberately stoking nationwide fuel scarcity and cash crisis to undermine his chances at the ballot next month.

As desperation intensified among Mr Tinubu’s campaign managers and supporters, Mr Gbajabiamila slammed CBN’s moves as inappropriate and Mr Emefiele’s failure to honour invitations was an affront to the power and prerogatives of “the people’s parliament.”

“The refusal by the CBN to heed the invitation by the House of Representatives is evidence of a blatant disregard for the well-being of the Nigerian people who are their customers. It is also an insult to the authority and prerogatives of the people’s parliament,” the Speaker said in a statement.

“Therefore, I will, pursuant to the authority conferred by Section 89 (1)(d) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Order 19 (2)(1) of the Standing Orders of the House of Representatives, not hesitate to issue a warrant to the Inspector General of the Nigeria Police Force to compel the attendance of the CBN or Managing Directors who fail, refuse or neglect to respond to the summons by the House of Representatives,” the statement added.

A spokesman for the CBN did not immediately return a request seeking comments about the threats. Mr Emefiele has insisted he would not be backing down on his policies, saying he has the backing of President Muhammadu Buhari to double down.

The House in November made several unsuccessful attempts to summon Mr Emefiele over the recolouring of the country’s currency and cash withdrawal limits. The CBN chief later sent his deputy governor on financial stability Aisha Ahmad to represent him, but the lawmakers insisted they weren’t persuaded by her performance.

The House also invited commercial bank operators to explain why the newly designed naira notes are still not being issued effectively in time for their expiration on January 31, 2023, but the bank executives again failed to honour the invite.

Recently, the CBN announced changes to the national currency and vastly limited amounts that could be withdrawn in a day from bank accounts across the country. The currency change has seen millions of Nigerians besieging banking halls across the country in a rush to deposit cash still in their possessions. Politicians like Mr Tinubu, who have been counting on using cash to sway the election, have been grumbling over the policy changes.

For his move to stifle the free flow of money in the run-up to the upcoming general election, reports also claimed conspiracies to brand the bank boss a financier of terrorism.