Senate To Bar Sitting CBN Govs From Contesting Elections

The Senate has commenced moves to bar any sitting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from engaging in partisan politics or contesting elections while in office.

The immediate past Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, had attempted to contest the 2023 presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while in office.

The move was widely condemned by Nigerians who wondered how a serving public servant could seek an elective office contrary to extant provisions of the constitution.

The action of the Senate is contained in a bill which seeks to amend the Central Bank of Nigeria Act 2007 which was read for the first time on Tuesday last week.

The bill, titled: “Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) (Amendment) Bill 2023” is sponsored by Senator Steve Karimi (APC – Kogi West).

Karimi explained in the explanatory memorandum of the bill that “This bill is aimed at amending the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act 2007 to allow for greater accountability and transparency in the running of the Central Bank and to prohibit the use of foreign currency in local transactions in Nigeria.”

A new amendment proposed to the bill in section 9(2) reads: “Notwithstanding the Provisions of this Act or any written law in existence, the Governor and the Deputy Governor of the Bank shall not participate directly or indirectly in partisan politics, nor contest any election, during their tenure in office.”

The bill among others also seeks to prohibit the use of foreign currency for domestic transactions in Nigeria.

The bill seeks amendment of Section 20 of the CBN Act, by inserting Section 20(A) immediately after the existing.

Section 20, before the existing Section 21.

The proposed amendment reads: “20(A) Prohibition of the use of foreign currency in democratic transactions:

“(1) No person or body corporate shall use any foreign currency as a means of exchange for goods, services and other transactions in markets supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, airports and other places of business in Nigeria except by a Bank, licensed Bureau De Change and other financial institutions duly authorized by the Central Bank of Nigeria to trade, deal and use such currency and no individual or business entity in Nigeria shall advertise, denominate or price its goods or services in any currency other than the Nigerian Naira and Kobo.

“(2) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) of this section commits an offence and shall be liable on conviction to: (a) in the case of an individual, to a fine of N250,000.00 or a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months or both such fine and imprisonment; “(b) In the case of a corporate entity to a fine of N1,000,000 and a conviction of three months to its officers or directors who authorized or undertook the transaction.”