Connect with us

Business

Reps Move To Reduce CBN Governor’s Powers

Published

on

In a move seen as an attempt to whittle down the powers of the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the House of Representatives will on Monday conduct public hearing on the proposed amendments to the CBN Act. The proposed amendment to the CBN Act, No 7 of 2007 as sponsored by Jagaba Jagaba includes “appointment of a person other than the governor as the chairman of the board of the apex bank”.

The bill seeks to amend the CBN Act with a view to streamlining its budgetary processes with the requirements of the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) of 2007.

The proposed bill also seeks to amend Section 6(2) of the principal Act with intent of excluding the “deputy governors and directors as members of the CBN board; divest the board of the power of consideration and approval of the annual budget of the bank and for other related matters.”

Section 6(a) of the bill proposed the appointment of “a chairman, who shall be a former governor of CBN or a former chairman of a bank or managing director of a bank” of the board.

Other members of the board include the governor of CBN; permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance; accountant-general of the federation; permanent secretary, National Planning Commission; a representative of Federal Inland Revenue Service (not below the rank of a director) and a representative of Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (not below the rank of a director).

 

Section 7(l) of the proposed bill also seeks to provide that “the governor or in his absence, the most senior deputy governor shall be in charge of the day-to-day management of the bank and shall be answerable to the board for his acts and decisions”.

 

Section 8(3) provides that “the salaries or allowances including pensions and other allowances payable to the governor and to the deputy governors shall be as stipulated, from time to time, by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission subject to the approval of the president.”

 

The new section in the proposed bill provides that “the board shall prepare and submit to the National Assembly through the president not later than 30th September of each year an estimate of its expenditure and income during the next succeeding year.”

 

The House after robust debate on the bill, directed the joint House Committee on Banking and Currency and Justice headed by Jones Onyeleri to conduct the public hearing and report back to it within four weeks.

Continue Reading

Business

Kenyan Runners Dominate Berlin Marathons

Published

on

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.

 

Continue Reading

Business

NIS Ends Decentralised Passport Production After 62 Years

Published

on

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.
Continue Reading

Business

FG To Roll Out Digital Public Infrastructure, Data Exchange, Next Year 

Published

on

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.
Continue Reading

Trending