Victor Ezeja
AdminIn a bid to prevent a repeat of what transpired in the buildup to the 2023 presidential election when the serving central banker at the time, Godwin Emefiele, was bandied as one of those vying for the ticket of the ruling party, two bills seeking to prevent serving Governor and Deputy Governors of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from partisan politics yesterday scaled second reading on the floor of the Senate.
The proposed amendments which were however consolidated into one bill equally sought to reposition the regulatory body for efficiency. One of the consolidated bills titled, “Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) (Amendment) Bill 2023” was sponsored by Senator Steve Karimi (APC – Kogi West) while the second one was titled: “A Bill to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007, and for matters connected therewith, 2023” as sponsored by Senator Darlington Nwokocha (LP – Abia Central).
Prime Business Africa recalls that Emefiele had attempted to contest the 2023 presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while in office. When the N100 million nomination and expression of interest forms were picked on his behalf by a group of supporters from the party’s organising secretary, Nigerians condemned his ambition wondering how a serving public servant could seek an elective office contrary to extant provisions of the constitution.
Amid the criticism, Emefiele through his team of lawyers led by Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN, filed a suit against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN, alleging an attempt to disqualify him from the 2023 presidential election.
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The CBN governor prayed the court to declare that he can “validly participate in the primary election of any political party and is entitled to vote and be voted for as candidate of any political party of his choice, for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for the election to the office of the President or any other office under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended”.
This legal action came two months after Emefiele had begged not to be distracted, stating that he was at the time focused on solving macroeconomic challenges, including fighting inflation. Using the hashtag #NoDistractionsPlease, he tweeted, “My focus at this time is a robust monetary policy and fighting inflation which is now a global problem; building a strong financial system in an increasingly uncertain global economy.
“Development finance and supporting farmers & manufacturers in our self-sufficiency and import substitution drive; raising N15 trillion for InfraCo infrastructure financing Building a world-class International Financial Center in Lagos; as we support the Muhammadu Buhari Administration to finish strong.”
On Thursday, Karimi’s proposed amendment to section 9(2) of the CBN Act read: “Notwithstanding the Provisions of this Act or any written law in existence, the Governor and the Deputy Governor of the bank shall not participate directly or indirectly in partisan politics, nor contest any election, during their tenure in office.”
He explained that it was aimed at amending the CBN Act to allow for greater accountability and transparency in the running of the bank and to prohibit the use of foreign currency in local transactions in Nigeria.
The Kogi West lawmaker’s bill also seeks to prohibit the use of foreign currency for domestic transactions in Nigeria. It seeks amendment of Section 20 of the CBN Act, by inserting Section 20(A) immediately after the existing section 20, before the existing section 21.
The proposed amendment read: “20(A) Prohibition of the use of foreign currency in democratic transactions: “(1) No person or body corporate shall use any foreign currency as a means of exchange for goods, services and other transactions in markets supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, airports and other places of business in Nigeria except by a bank, licenced Bureau De Change and other financial institutions duly authorised by the CBN to trade, deal and use such currency and no individual or business entity in Nigeria shall advertise, denominate or price its goods or services in any currency other than the Nigerian naira and kobo.
“(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to: (a) in the case of an individual, to a fine of N250,000.00 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or both such fine and imprisonment;
“(b) in the case of a corporate entity to a fine of N1,000,000 and a conviction of three months to its officers or directors who authorised or undertook the transaction.”
On his part, Nwokocha who sponsored the second bill that was eventually consolidated with the first, listed the general principles of his bill to include: “This bill seeks to address all anomalies that have hindered the advancement of the apex bank to handle the ailing economy of our nation.”
According to him, “The thrust of this amendment is to create a people-centered central bank by delivering price and financial system stability and promoting sustainable economic development.
“As the nation grapples with economic issues, we need to reposition the CBN to grow the economy, regulate the exchange rate and unauthorise financial transactions and dollarising the economy.
“This bill seeks to provide for among other things: Separate the head of management from the head of the governing board in line with national and international good corporate governance practices;
“Establish a proper governance architecture for the monetary authority for optimal policy and operational effectiveness;
“Enshrine real-time controls and effective accountability in the conduct of central banking in Nigeria; reposition the CBN towards pursuit and advancement of its core mandates given the Bank’s pivotal role in the economy; and position the CBN as an apolitical entity that will become a worthy example in national and international monetary policy, banking sector regulation, currency management, and supervision.”
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