By Achilleus-Chud Uchegbu ([email protected] 08023030366)
AT the Senate confirmation hearing for
Yemi Cardoso, successor to Godwin Emefiele
as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
(CBN), and his deputies, the President of the
Senate, Obong Godswil Obot Akpabio, took
time to ask a question, which many Nigerians
considered very pertinent to the stability and
independence of the bank.
He asked Mr. Cardoso if he would give assur- ance that he would not, at any time in the fu-
ture, fall into the lair of politicians and seek to
present himself for nomination to contest for
the presidency of Nigeria on any political plat-
form while still being CBN governor. I did not
expect Mr. Cardoso to say anything otherwise.
However, I felt the question was unnecessary
because the Senate is empowered to make
laws for the good governance of Nigeria. I had
thought that, rather than ask the question, the
Senate ought to have caused a review of exist-
ing laws governing the office of the governor
of the Central Bank and what the governor
ought to do and what he must not do.
Akpabio’s question must have emanated from the realization that Cardoso’s prede- cessor abused his office when he indicated
interest in contesting for the presidency of
Nigeria. It is immaterial that he may have
been lured into the race for which he also
approached the court to determine his fate.
The issue here is not necessarily about the past
CBN governor’s ambition or about his being
amenable to the manipulative tendencies of
politicians. The issue is that there was a lacuna
in the law establishing the bank and the
political exposure of its governor. I guess that
lacuna was what Emefiele, and perhaps, those
who lured him into the race, exploited and in
the process helped him to run into trouble.
Because of that lacuna, Emefiele was led into
decisions that did not serve the interest of the
Nigerian economy. As a moral being, he was
in a position to resist temptation. But he did
not because this is Nigeria where impunity is
the national norm and where anything is pos- sible because there are never consequences for
abuse of powers.
However, the incumbent Senate seems to
have looked through that episode and realised
that mere assurances are not enough to stop
an ambitious, and, or, desperate professional
banker, from the manipulative tendencies of
equally desperate and ambitious politicians. I
recall that Cardoso’s name featured promi-
nently in the race to select a deputy for Bola
Tinubu as governor of Lagos state after his
debacle with Kofoworola Bucknor-Akerele.
At the time, Cardoso distanced himself from
politics and preferred to remain his profes-
sional self thus paving the way for Femi Pedro
to step in. But that was then. Time, that space
between two events, changes things and as
they change, humans change with them.
This is why I think the Senate has moved
rightly in seeking to amend the CBN Act to
introduce a section that bars a central bank
governor from partisan politics. This is alongside a new law outlawing the use of foreign
currency in local transactions.
Specifically, Senator Steve Karimi is chal-
lenging his colleagues to rise to the occasion
and ensure that the bill “Central Bank of Nige- ria (Establishment) (Amendment) Bill 2023”,
which was read for the first time penultimate
Tuesday, sees the light of day. According to
Sen. Karimi, the bill aims 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 cur-
rency in local transactions in Nigeria.” Part of
the transparency and accountability sought
is the amendment of Section 9(2) of the CBN
Act to now read: “Notwithstanding the Provi-
sions of this Act or any written law in exis-
tence, 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.”
No doubt, this bill will get the support of
most Nigerians because of the experiences of
the Emefiele era. Insulating the CBN governor
and his deputies from partisan politics is a
positive action towards redeeming the image
of the bank and making it serve the purpose
for which it was created. However, I think that
the penalty for this ought to be strong enough
to deter and make the CBN governor sit at his
desk and not attend nocturnal political caucus
meetings.
The other leg of the amendments sought
to the CBN Act is that about using foreign
currency in local transactions. The proposed
amendment to Section 20 reads: “(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.”
Put together, these proposed amendments
suggest that there are still senators who
know the exact reason they are in the Senate.
Exhuming moribund laws, which had been
exploited to stagnate the development and
growth of Nigeria, is a statement in insight,
vision, and capacity. This is what Karimi has
done.
This is also what other senators should be
doing. A thorough examination of the laws
of Nigeria will exhume moribund legislation
which ought to have been amended long
ago for the good of the country. However,
they are overlooked and later exploited, for
personal gains. For instance, the endless call
for streamlining government and reducing the
cost of governance could be easily achieved
through acts of the parliament if Senators
engage more in research to review agencies
established by acts of parliament or military
decrees, which though are still religiously
funded from the budget, add no value to
national growth and development. A thorough
research will exhume such agencies. And,
this is a patriotic national service too aimed at
saving Nigeria from the malfeasance that had
dominated its political development.
What Karimi has done is majorly what it
takes to be a Senator. This is what Nigerians
expect Senators to busy themselves with. After
all, isn’t that the job they were elected to do?
But, while we are at it, it is a very important
and strategic national assignment for the
Senate to amend the CBN Act and fix the gov-
ernor and his deputies on the jobs they have
agreed to do for Nigeria’s good.