The Senate on Wednesday considered two similar bills seeking to ban the Governor and Deputy Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from participating in politics.

The two bills, sponsored by Senators Sunday Karimi and Darlington Nwokocha, were passed after a second reading during plenary at the upper chamber.

The senators proposed that Section 9 of the CBN Act, 2007, prohibit the CBN Governor and Deputies from being members of any political party or from participating in any political activity while in office.

They also proposed that the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Chairmen of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Chartered Institute of Bankers in Nigeria (CIBN) be represented on the board of the CBN.

The bills come against the backdrop of the recent attempt by the immediate past CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele, to contest the 2023 presidential election.

Senator Adams Oshiomhole from Edo North Senatorial District, however, opposed the second reading of the bill, arguing that the case of the immediate past Governor of the CBN, Godwin Emefiele, which was the case in reference, was a consequence of the absence of governance and the will to enforce the existing laws.

The Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, therefore gave the Senate Committee on Banking and Finance two weeks to report back on the CBN Amendment Bill.
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