A bill seeking to bar the governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) from getting involved in partisan politics has passed second
reading at the house of representatives.
The proposed legislation also seeks to prohibit the deputy
governor and directors of the CBN from participating in partisan politics while
in office.
The bill, which aims to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN) Act 2007, is sponsored by Sada Soli, a lawmaker from Katsina state.
The section stipulates the conditions upon which the
governor of the CBN and the deputy shall cease to hold office.
The amendment proposes to add that the CBN governor will
vacate his office if he/she “is a member of a political party or involved in
partisan politics”.
Leading the debate on the bill, Soli said the proposed
legislation is not targeted at an individual, adding that it is intended to
cure the “shock the Act has suffered when it was tested”.
“This amendment is no prejudice to anybody because the act
was tested and it was found to be weak,” he said.
“Therefore, we need to strengthen the CBN as the last lender
of the resort of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to restore its credibility
from the shock it suffered in the course of interpreting the law.
“These changes will enable any person who is interested in
partisan politics to cease as the governor of the central bank and this will
give more honour to the position of the CBN governor, and deputy governor.”
BACKGROUND
In the build-up to the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential primary in June, some interest groups had procured the presidential nomination and expression of interest form for Godwin Emefiele, governor of CBN.
The development was met with pushback from some Nigerians
who queried the possibility of the CBN governor contesting the presidency while
in office.
Reacting to the rumoured presidential ambition, some civil
society organisations (CSOs), including Rotimi Akeredolu, governor of Ondo, had
asked the CBN governor to resign his position.
Amid the calls for his resignation, Emefiele filed a suit
asking a federal high court in Abuja to declare him eligible to participate in
the 2023 presidential election.
The CBN governor, however, withdrew the suit days before the
APC presidential primary election.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com