The Digest:
The House of Representatives has advanced a bill proposing a single, non-renewable six-year term for CBN leadership and banning foreign currency for domestic transactions. According to sponsors, the changes aim to modernize the apex bank, curb political interference, and unify Nigeria’s exchange rate regime.
Key Points (7 bullets)
- Bill proposes a single six-year term for the CBN Governor and deputies, non-renewable
- Seeks to prohibit the use of foreign currency for local transactions except through authorized channels
- Aims to unify Nigeria’s exchange rate and strengthen monetary policy transparency
- Separates the roles of the CBN Governor and Board Chairman to prevent power concentration
- Caps Ways and Means advances at 10% of the prior year’s revenue to curb inflation
- Requires a 90-day notice and, impact assessment before any currency redesign
- Reform follows controversies under former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele
In the architecture of economic governance, tenure limits and transaction rules are not just clauses; they are safeguards against overreach, politicization, and instability. This proposal seeks to root the central bank not in personality, but in principle; not in flux, but in foresight.
Sources: The Cable, The Nation
