The bill seeking to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria Act NO. 7 of 2007 ,in order to further empower the apex bank to carry out its principal objectives in line with section 2 of the Act and for other related matters which was sponsored by Senator Mukhail Adetokunbo Abiru was debated on the floor of the Nigerian Senate earlier in the week.
It was learned that the bill was co-sponsored by all the 32 members of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions and the first reading of the bill had come up on Tuesday, January 30, 2024.
The proposed amendments are aimed at strengthening the apex bank to discharge its primary mandate of maintaining monetary and price stability in support of government’s economic growth objectives as well as aligning its governance mechanism with global best practices.
A statement made available to Team@orientactualmags.com noted that the Deputy Minority Leader, Senator Lere Oyewumi, who is also the Vice Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, has supported the bill seeking to empower career staffers of the CBN to be elevated to the position of deputy governors submitting that it will promote a smooth transition process as well as minimize the risk of loss of institutional memory in implementing the bank’s mandate.
While having the floor, Senator Lere Oyewumi equally called on the CBN to allow the new and old legal tender to be used simultaneously for transactions.
He has also supported the proposed bill stating that before the apex bank can replace an old legal tender with a new one under any restructuring, redesigning, redenomination, or any similar exercise, there should be at least one year notice.
Akogun Lere Oyewumi also suggested that the bill should have the tenure of governor and deputy governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) limited to a single non-renewable term of five years .
The senator argued that practical evidence has shown that a single non-renewable term for governors and deputies of the CBN will help to reduce political influence in respect of monetary policy decisions–Team@orientactualmags.com Do you have any information you wish to share with us? Do you want us to cover your event or programme? Kindly send SMS to 08059100286, 09094171980. Thank you
