Emefiele: Senate must amend CBN Act, says Akpabio

By Bose Adelakun

Following the controversies around the new naira design introduced by the suspended CBN governor, Godwin Emefiele, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has said the Act that established the Central Bank of Nigeria must be amended.

The Senate President said this while reacting to statements by the former deputy governor of the CBN, Adebayo Adelabu who was been screened as a ministerial nominee at a Senate special plenary session.

Adelabu, while revealing some of the issues affecting the CBN to the upper chamber, stated that there is a need for adequate monitoring of the Bank.

According to him, most of the controversial decisions that had emanated from the Bank were arrived by a few people in connivance with the CBN governor.

He said, “The Central Bank of Nigeria has three highest decision-making bodies: the Committee of Governors, the monetary policy committee, and the Board of Directors. The CBN governor is the chairman of these three committees which is good.

“There is something we call minority opinions. In all the minutes of the COG, MPC, and the Board of Directors they are always documented, most of these controversial decisions coming out of the CBN were actually taken by either three out of five or four out of five.

“There is always a minority opinion, but so far the three people have the support of the CBN governor, the minority will have their say, even if they may have superior arguments.”
He however faulted former President, Muhammadu Buhari for relying solely on the report of the CBN governor without meeting with the other four deputy governors to get there views on policies of the Bank.

Reacting, Senator Akpabio said, “I think this is food for thought for distinguished Senators, and that means we must revisit the Act that set up the CBN.

“He cannot stand here and condemn the very institution he belonged but he has at least informed us that it is not every decision that he or other deputy governors agreed with, so we probably would not have been where we are now if indeed, we had a proper oversight and monitoring of the CBN by the Act itself.”