SENATE TO AMEND CBN ACT TO CURB GOVERNOR’S POWERS; LOOKS TO BAR GOVERNOR, DEPUTIES FROM POLITICS.
Written by Tunde Adeyemi on October 26, 2023
The Senate has begun moves to whittle down the powers of the Central Bank Governor by removing him as chairman of the board of the apex bank.
The proposed amendment will separate the head of management from the head of the governing board in line with national and international governance practices.
The lawmakers also proposed an exclusion of the CBN governor or the deputy governors from partisan politics or contest elections whilst in office to avoid conflict of interest.
They sought for the addition of the Auditor General of the Federation, the Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Chartered Institute of Bankers, be included as Members of the Board of the CBN for synergy in fiscal and monetary policy to enable any sitting CBN Governor focus more on fiscal and monetary policies than politics of the institution.
According to the senators the amendments will ensure that the banking system is repositioned to play its primary role of financial intermediation for the benefit of investments and economic growth in Nigeria.
The bill which scaled second reading received diverse contributions from lawmakers with some for and some against, given recent narratives surrounding the activities of the CBN.
The committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Matters is to further legislate its input and report back in two weeks
