On Tuesday, the House of Representatives approved a bill that would prevent the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) governor from running in any future elections in the nation.
The bill was passed just two months after the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele, announced his intention to run for the APC presidential nomination.
Emefiele later withdrew his name from consideration after a backlash from Nigerians.
The bill’s sponsor, Sada Soli, stated that it would add further requirements to the appointment and termination of the director, deputy governor, and governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Soli said: “I am doing this because there was a time the CBN Governor went to court seeking an interpretation on whether he can participate in partisan politics.
“We need to address that. Today the credibility of CBN in custody of sensitive election material is being questioned.
“It is not against any individual but to save the integrity of CBN.”
The legislator stated that the bill aimed to reform the CBN Act 2007, adding that it wasn’t done out of bias but rather because it was put to the test and proven to be deficient.
The Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase, who presided over plenary, put the bill to a voice vote, and it passed second reading.