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Bill To Amend CBN Act Of 2007 Scales Second Reading

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13 years ago

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The bill for an Act to

amend the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act of 2007 passed the second reading at the Senate on Wednesday.

The bill seeks to amend the act to compel the bank to submit its budget to the National Assembly for approval every financial year as expected by law.

The sponsor of the bill, Sen. Ita Enang (PDP- Akwa Ibom), said that the Fiscal Responsibility Act of July 2007, mandating CBN to submit its budget to the National Assembly, superseded the CBN Act.

“The Fiscal Responsibility Act is later in time and therefore supersedes any provision of the CBN Act.

“But the CBN has relied on the provision in its Act to refuse to submit her budget to the National Assembly for consideration and approval, hence this bill,’’ Enang said.

He said the CBN Act of May 2007 gave the CBN Board the power to consider and approve the annual budget of the bank.

He said that it was “an affront’’ for the CBN to claim that the National Assembly had donated its authorisation to the bank by virtue of the provision of the CBN Act.’’

Sen. Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP- Abia) said the Senate must take appropriate measures to ensure that the existing laws were obeyed by government agencies.

“We have powers to make laws for the CBN. The CBN cannot on its own choose which law to obey.

“This matter was overlooked while enacting the fiscal responsibility law. There’s no other way we can help the country than to ensure that this ambiguity is corrected,’’ Abaribe said.

Also contributing, Sen. Abdul Ningi (PDP- Bauchi) said that the amendment was fundamental and deserved the support of all the legislators.

“This is an amendment that had been canvassed before 2004. The amendment calls for the support of all legislators.

“It has nothing to do with the personality of the CBN governor. This matter has been there since 1999,’’ Ningi said.

Sen. Victor Lar (PDP- Plateau) said that the amendment was not aimed at undermining the core duties of CBN.

“We are saying that whatever funds accrue to the CBN or any amount it wants to expend should go through the scrutiny of the National Assembly,’’ Lar said.

The Deputy Senate President, Sen. Ike Ekweremadu, referred the bill to the Banking and Judiciary committees for further legislative action before returning it to the floor of the Senate within two weeks.

 

Vivian-Peace Nwinaene

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Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

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September 22, 2025

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Kenya made it a clean sweep at the Berlin Marathon with Sabastian Sawe winning the men’s race and Rosemary Wanjiru triumphing in the women’s.

Sawe finished in two hours, two minutes and 16 seconds to make it three wins in his first three marathons.

The 30-year-old, who was victorious at this year’s London Marathon, set a sizzling pace as he left the field behind and ran much of the race surrounded only by his pacesetters.

Japan’s Akasaki Akira came second after a powerful latter half of the race, finishing almost four minutes behind Sawe, while Ethiopia’s Chimdessa Debele followed in third.

“I did my best and I am happy for this performance,” said Sawe.

“I am so happy for this year. I felt well but you cannot change the weather. Next year will be better.”

Sawe had Kelvin Kiptum’s 2023 world record of 2:00:35 in his sights when he reached halfway in 1:00:12, but faded towards the end.

In the women’s race, Wanjiru sped away from the lead pack after 25 kilometers before finishing in 2:21:05.

Ethiopia’s Dera Dida followed three seconds behind Wanjiru, with Azmera Gebru, also of Ethiopia, coming third in 2:21:29.

Wanjiru’s time was 12 minutes slower than compatriot Ruth Chepng’etich’s world record of 2:09:56, which she set in Chicago in 2024.

 

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NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

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September 22, 2025

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The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) has officially ended passport production at multiple centres, transitioning to a single, centralised system for the first time in 62 years.
Minister of Interior, Dr Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, made the disclosure during an inspection of the Nigeria’s new Centralised Passport Personalisation Centre at the NIS Headquarters in Abuja, last Thursday.
He stated that since the establishment of NIS in 1963, Nigeria had never operated a central passport production centre, until now, marking a major reform milestone.
“The project is 100 per cent ready. Nigeria can now be more productive and efficient in delivering passport services,” Tunji-Ojo said.
He explained that old machines could only produce 250 to 300 passports daily, but the new system had a capacity of 4,500 to 5,000 passports every day.
“With this, NIS can now meet daily demands within just four to five hours of operation,” he added, describing it as a game-changer for passport processing in Nigeria.
“We promised two-week delivery, and we’re now pushing for one week.
“Automation and optimisation are crucial for keeping this promise to Nigerians,” the minister said.
He noted that centralisation, in line with global standards, would improve uniformity and enhance the overall integrity of Nigerian travel documents worldwide.
Tunji-Ojo described the development as a step toward bringing services closer to Nigerians while driving a culture of efficiency and total passport system reform.
According to him, the centralised production system aligns with President Bola Tinubu’s reform agenda, boosting NIS capacity and changing the narrative for improved service delivery.
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FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

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September 22, 2025

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The National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has announced plans to roll out Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and the Nigerian Data Exchange (NGDX) platforms across key sectors of the economy, starting in early 2026.
Director of E-Government and Digital Economy at NITDA, Dr. Salisu Kaka, made the disclosure in Abuja during a stakeholder review session of the DPI and NGDX drafts at the Digital Public Infrastructure Live Event.
The forum, themed “Advancing Nigeria’s Digital Public Infrastructure through Standards, Data Exchange and e-Government Transformation,” brought together regulators, state governments, and private sector stakeholders to harmonise inputs for building inclusive, secure, and interoperable systems for governance and service delivery.
According to Kaka, Nigeria already has several foundational elements in place, including national identity systems and digital payment platforms.
What remains is the establishment of the data exchange framework, which he said would be finalised by the end of 2025.
“Before the end of this year and by next year we will be fully ready with the foundational element, and we start dropping the use cases across sectors,” Kaka explained.
He stressed that the federal government recognises the autonomy of states urging them to align with national standards.
“If the states can model and reflect what happens at the national level, then we can have a 360-degree view of the whole data exchange across the country and drive all-of-government processes,” he added.
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