A former deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Kingsley Moghalu, has urged the National Assembly to tread cautiously in its bid to review the CBN Act 2007 (as amended).
Moghalu in a post on X on Tuesday said he supports explicitly banning the CBN governor and deputy governors from involvement in partisan politics, but warned against a proposal to have the Board of Directors chaired by an external director rather than the CBN Governor.
He described the proposal as a “BAAAD idea” that would weaken the statutory independence of the central bank.
“Two bills sponsored by Senators @nassnigeria to review the CBN Act 2007 (as amended) should be handled carefully. While I support explicitly banning the Governor and DepGovs of @cenbank from involvement in partisan politics (although the present law implicitly already does so, prohibiting their engagement in any “employment or vocation” outside their central banking duties), the proposal to have the Board of Directors chaired by an external director rather than the CBN Governor as is the case at present is a BAAAD idea. If approved, this would weaken the statutory independence of the central bank,” he tweeted.
Moghalu said the best global practice is for the Governor to chair the Board of Directors, as this insulates the Bank from external influence.
He expressed concern that given the “extreme level of partisan politicisation of institutions in Nigeria,” such a provision would open the door to the CBN falling victim to this malady.
“The best global practice, for the good reason of insulating the Bank from external influence, is that the Governor chairs the Board of Directors. “Given the extreme level of partisan politicisation of institutions in Nigeria that ought to be independent but have become mere extensions of whatever political party is in power, such a provision will open the door to the CBN falling victim formally to this malady.
Moghalu also criticized the previous CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, for his “excesses,” such as lending N23 trillion to the fiscal authorities and attempting to vie for the presidency without resigning his office.
He said that while individuals should pay a price for abusing the laws and ethics, the solution is not to “destroy the institution itself by eroding its independence.”
“The NASS and President Buhari condoned the excesses of the previous Governor Godwin Emefiele and indeed encouraged such illegalities (e.g., N23 trillion Ways and Means lending to the fiscal authorities by the monetary authority; and the previous Governor attempting to vie for the Office of the President under a severe hallucination that he could move directly from the CBN into Aso Rock without resigning his office), apparently for self-serving reasons. That aberration is no reason to destroy the institution itself by eroding its independence,” he said.
Moghalu urged the National Assembly and President Buhari to “honestly look out for the national interest rather than self-interest” in making such a sensitive appointment.
He also called on the current CBN management team, headed by Yemi Cardoso, to resist any attempt to erode the Bank’s independence.
