Senate passes a bill to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act 2018 for second reading

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A Bill for an Act to Amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act 2018 has passed through second reading at the Senate.

This was sequel to the consideration of the bill sponsored by Sen Samuel Anyanwu on Wednesday during plenary session.

Leading debate on the bill he said the Amendment Bill seeks to compel the CBN to submit its annual budget to the National Assembly in the course of the annual Appropriation Bill or subsequent thereto for transparency and accountability in the operations of the bank.

National Assembly correspondent Folashade Abdulsalami reports that the Lawmaker noted that some of the key issues of the Bill includes the amendment of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2018 to appoint a person other than the governor as the chairman of the board.

However in the contributions of other senators it was submitted that the Senate should exercise its full powers by subjecting the apex bank to scrutiny.

The Lawmakers further noted that subjecting the the activities of the CBN to public scrutiny and making will exhibit transparency.

‎‎Some other Senators however insisted that the CBN status quo should be maintained, saying that the CBN of any country is a pivotal institution.

Deputy President of the Senate, Sen Ike Ekweremadu who presided over the session said the CBN is tasked with the duty to subject their budget to the Ministry of Finance before approval. ‎

He subsequently referred the Bill to the committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions to report back in four weeks.

‎The second reading of the bill was therefore passed through members vote.