House of Representatives members were unanimous in their verdict over a recent call by the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, on the National Assembly to help whittle down the powers of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
Their verdict expressly stated that the minister should concentrate more on fiscal policies as she had not been able to exercise 40 per cent of her ministry’s powers.
Some lawmakers, however, argued that curtailing the independence of the apex bank would spell doom for Nigeria and erode the tenets upon which the bank was grounded.
In his reaction, Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts, Kingsley Chinda, noted that whatever problem was bedeviling Nigeria today had no link with the CBN, stressing that what was important was how to align to sustain the nation’s economic policies.
He said: “The problem with our economy does not flow from the powers of the CBN governor. She should be more interested in coming up with workable and sustainable policies than dispute over powers.
“She cannot even effectively exercise 40 per cent of the powers of her office. The powers of the CBN governor are not the problem with our economy. She should concentrate on and limit herself to fiscal policies and allow the CBN deal with monetary policies.”
On his part, Chairman House Committee on Public Petitions, Uzoma Nkem-Abonta, warned against politicising the CBN.
He argued that any attempt to subsume the CBN into the Finance Ministry would spell doom for Nigeria as its independence in other civilised climes was never negotiable.
He explained: “The CBN was created by an Act of Parliament which makes it a statutory creation with assigned roles and functions regulating and managing fiscal policies.
“CBN should outlive governments and parties. It must not be treated like core civil service or ministries.
“CBN operations should be devoid of political manipulations and any attempt to put CBN under the management of Finance Ministry will spell doom for our economy.”
Minority Leader of the House, Leo Ogor, in his submission, said such move should be jettisoned as it was tantamount to eroding the independence of the CBN.
He said: “Rather than whittling down the powers of the CBN, which is not in conformity with best international practices as present day realities have demonstrated worldwide, our Finance Minister should initiate relevant fiscal policies aimed at stimulating the economy from recession.
“If the minister succeeds with her plan, the reaction time of the CBN to monetary policies will be greatly impaired by bureaucracy as it is expected to act through a supervisory agency and such move will result in undue political interference in monetary policies, which will not augur well for the economy.”
