The House of Representatives on Thursday opened debate on a bill seeking to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria Act to improve transparency, oversight and governance at the apex bank.
The bill, sponsored by House Leader Julius Ihonvbere and Jesse Onakalausi from Lagos, passed second reading without any objection.
During debate, Onakalausi said recent events in the economy have made reforms necessary. He explained, “The CBN plays a central role in stabilising the financial system, ensuring monetary credibility, safeguarding price stability, and promoting public confidence in the Nigerian economy.”
He argued that governance lapses, foreign exchange distortions, policy inconsistency and weak oversight exposed gaps in the current law. He said, “Developments in recent years – ranging from governance concerns, foreign exchange distortions, monetary policy inconsistency, weak oversight mechanisms, to the challenges witnessed around currency redesign and policy communication – have exposed structural gaps in the principal Act.”
A major focus of the bill is separating the roles of CBN governor and board chairman. Onakalausi said both roles should not be held by one person and added, “The current CBN Act merges the positions of Governor and Board Chairman, creating an avoidable concentration of power. This bill separates these roles to ensure professional oversight without interference in day-to-day operations.”
The draft amendments also plan to strengthen the Monetary Policy Committee and align Nigeria’s framework with global standards in countries like the UK, South Africa, Brazil and the EU.
Another key issue is Ways and Means financing. Onakalausi said the new proposal would set a clear limit of 10 percent of the previous year’s actual revenue to stop the abuse of deficit financing. He explained, “It prevents fiscal abuse as Section 38 has historically been one of the most abused provisions under the CBN Act.”
The bill also seeks more transparency in exchange rate management and major monetary decisions. It introduces a 90-day notice, impact assessment and mandatory briefing of the National Assembly before major actions like currency redesign.
New reporting rules would require the apex bank to submit its audited accounts within two months and give quarterly updates on monetary policy decisions.
Other amendments include a professional board chairman separate from the governor, a single six-year term for the governor and deputy governors, and the requirement that two deputy governors must come from internal directors.
The restructured Monetary Policy Committee will include the governor, four deputy governors, two board members and four external experts who must be independent and cannot hold public office.
If approved, the amendment would be one of the biggest overhauls of the CBN Act in decades.
