A bill aimed at limiting the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) powers has passed second reading in the Senate.
The bill was passed by the upper chamber on Tuesday, following a debate on the general principles of legislation led by Senator Sadiq Umar of Kwara North.
During a debate, Umar stated that the bill proposes that another person — not from the CBN — be appointed chairman of the CBN board.
According to the senator, the legislation also proposes that the board not be in charge of determining member salaries and allowances. He went on to say that they should not also approve the apex bank’s budget, which would be sent to the national assembly for approval each fiscal year.
However, Ovie Omo-Agege, Deputy Senate President, and James Manager, Senator for Delta South, both voted against the bill.
They claimed that the bill’s timing was incorrect and that there were insufficient details to explain the proposed amendments.
While Manager stated that the bill should be “negatived,” Omo-Agege requested that more work be done on it.
When the bill was put to a vote, the majority of senators supported it.
Senate President Ahmad Lawan, for his part, referred the bill to the banking, insurance, and other financial institutions committee for further legislative input.
The committee is expected to submit its report in four weeks.
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