By Ken Chiwendu
A Bill seeking to ban the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Deputy Governors from participating in politics while in service has passed a second reading in the Senate on Wednesday .
Sponsored by Senators Sunday Karimi and Darlington Nwokocha, the Bill If passed into law, will amend Section 9 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007, which currently only prohibits the CBN governor and deputies from holding any other paid office besides their position at the CBN.
The Bill also proposes that the Auditor-General of the Federation, Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), and Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria (CIBN) be represented on the board of the CBN.
However, not all members supported the Bill.
Opposing the bill,Senator Adams Oshiomhole representing Edo North( APC ,) argued that the case of Godwin Emefiele, the immediate past CBN governor who purchased a presidential nomination form, was a consequence of the absence of governance and the will to enforce the extant laws.
The Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau, therefore, gave the Senate Committee on Banking and Finance two weeks to report back on the CBN Amendment Bill.
In May 2022, Emefiele expressed interest in contesting the 2023 presidential election on the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress APC.. Despite outright criticism and call for his resignation, he purchased a presidential nomination form and even challenged his intelligibility in court of law.
Emefiele held sway in defiance of wise counsel and maintained his position as the CBN governor until the former president Muhammadu Buhari left and Bola Tinubu took over as president on May 29.
On June 8, Emefiele was suspended from office and prosecuted in court leading to his resignation and appointment of a new management team for the CBN.
