legislative practice, the House of Representatives has concluded plans to hold a public hearing on its plan to whittle down the powers of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor.

Aside whittling down the CBN governor’s powers, the House, through “a bill for an Act to amend the CBN Act 2007 Act to appoint a person other than the governor as the chairman of the board of the bank, exclude deputy governors and directors as members of the board and approval of the annual budget of the bank and for related matters,” also planned to make the apex bank’s budget passed through the National Assembly.

The CBN was, by the virtue of the Act establishing it, insulated from the powers of appropriation and control of public funds domiciled in the lawmakers, leaving room for arbitrary expenditure without recourse to the National Assembly.

The House had, in May, passed for the second reading the said bill seeking to cut the CBN to size.

To this end, a public hearing had been slated for October 22 by House joint committees on Banking and Currency and Justice, aimed at gauging public opinion on the move to amend the CBN Act.

The bill, if finally passed, would also exclude deputy governors and directors as members of the board.

Ahead of the hearing date, the Nigerian Tribune learnt that the committee had commenced move to reach out to all the stakeholders in the industry for their inputs.