The National Assembly is seeking amendments to the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007, to bar top officials of the apex bank from partisan politics.
Championed by ex-lawmaker representing Abia Central Senatorial District, Darlington Nwokocha before he was sacked from office by an Appeal Court sitting in Lagos in 2023, the amendment seeks to prohibit the Chairman, Governor, and Deputy Governors of the CBN from engaging in political activities or becoming members of any political party for three years after service.
A part (amended section 8) of CBN Act 2007 (Amendment) Bill 2023 read, “The Governor and Deputy-Governors shall be persons of recognized financial experience and shall be appointed by the President subject to confirmation by the Senate on such terms and conditions as may be set out in their respective letters of appointment.
“The chairman shall also be appointed by the President. The chairman, governor and deputy governors shall not engage in or be a member of any political party until three years after disengaging from office.”
The bill also proposed that the CBN’s top executives, the chairman, governor, and deputy governor, shall initially be appointed for a five-year term.
The amendment bill read, “The chairman, governor and deputy governors shall be appointed in the first instance for a term of five years and shall each be eligible for reappointment for another term not exceeding five years and no more:
“Provided that, of the first five deputy governors to be so appointed, two shall, in the first instance be appointed for three years and two shall, in the first instance be appointed for four years.”
The proposed law also seeks to promote accountability mechanisms of the CBN Governor by mandating semi-annual reports to the parliament.
These sessions are to cover the broad spectrum of the CBN’s monetary policy efforts, activities, objectives and future economic development prospects.
The Amendment Bill created a new Board of Directors for the bankers’ bank aimed at injecting a new range of expertise and ensuring robust oversight.
The amendment further read, “There shall be for the Bank a Board of Directors (in this Act referred to as “the Board”) which shall be responsible for the policy and general administration of the affairs and business of the Bank.
“The Board shall consist of (a) Chairman; who shall be a renowned professional in Accounting, Finance or Economics that has served as a Chief Executive of a regulatory agency in Nigeria and has deep insight into the operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria in the course of his regulatory functions,” among others.
