The House of Representatives on Thursday instituted legislative work on a bill seeking major amendments to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, aimed at strengthening transparency, governance, and general oversight at the apex bank.
The bill is co-sponsored by House Leader Julius Ihonvbere and Jesse Onakalausi from Lagos. It scaled second reading during plenary.
Titled ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 1991, to allow for proper day-to-day operations, professional oversight, and enhance checks and balances, and for other matters connected thereto, 2025’, it aims to plug holes and reposition the bank in key areas such as governance and oversight, the sponsors said.
The bill, the sponsors explained, is in response to recent controversies, especially monetary policy decisions, foreign exchange management, and the 2022 currency redesign, which received general disapproval.
Leading the debate on the bill, Onakalausi argued that recent economic developments had made reforms unavoidable in view of the role the CBN plays in the country.
“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 stated while justifying the need for the bill.
While identifying “weak oversight mechanisms” as one of the reasons, he emphasised that governance lapses, FX distortions, and poor policy communication are also areas the bill seeks to address.
“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,” he stated.
He stressed that a key objective of the bill is restoring sound corporate governance, arguing that in most jurisdictions, the governor manages day-to-day operations while the Board provides oversight – an arrangement that ensures institutional balance.
While stressing that “both roles are meant to be separate to avoid conflict of interest,” he noted that “the current CBN Act merges the positions of Governor and Board Chairman, creating an avoidable concentration of power.
This bill,” he said, “separates these roles to ensure professional oversight without interference in day-to-day operations.”
The draft legislation also introduces reforms targeted at strengthening the Monetary Policy Committee, improving independence, and aligning Nigeria’s framework with global standards in the UK, South Africa, Brazil, and the EU. A major component of the bill is the tightening of Ways and Means financing.
“It prevents fiscal abuse as Section 38 (Ways and Means Advances) has historically been one of the most abused provisions under the CBN Act. This bill introduces a clear limit – 10% of the previous year’s actual revenue – to prevent inflationary financing of government deficits and ensure fiscal responsibility,” he said.
Additional provisions of the bill focus on safeguarding the naira and improving transparency in foreign exchange management.
The bill also introduces “a 90-day notice, impact assessments, mandatory National Assembly briefing before major monetary actions like redesign or demonetisation,” ensuring that sudden policy shocks are avoided.
While acknowledging the need for central bank autonomy, Onakalausi maintained that such independence must be accompanied by strong oversight mechanisms.
The bill proposes new reporting standards that will require the apex bank to submit its annual audited accounts within two months, provide quarterly reports on monetary policy decisions, and maintain a publicly accessible website containing all its publications.
Other key amendments include revising Section 6 to read: “A professional Chairman separate from the Governor, experienced in economics, banking, finance, or public financial institutions.”
It seeks to amend Section 8 to state, “Governor and Deputy Governors to serve a single six-year term.”
The bill provides that, to promote continuity and reduce political interference, the “two Deputy Governors must be drawn from internal Directors for institutional continuity.”
According to the draft resolution, the reconstituted Monetary Policy Committee will consist of the Governor, four Deputy Governors, two Board members, and four external experts who “must be independent and cannot hold public office.”
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