The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has appealed to President Muhammadu
Buhari to urgently give presidential assent to three bills passed by
the National Assembly concerning Financial Sector Strategy 2020 (FSS
2020).
The CBN is particularly worried that the bills may be given less
attention than they deserve because they were passed during the last
days of the last National Assembly.
CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele who amde the appeal during the
e-Government Summit 2015 in Abuja, lamented that the bills had
over-stayed their welcome on the floor of the National Assembly.
Represented by the apex bank’s Deputy Governor (Operations), Alhaji
Suleiman Barau on the occasion, he said the bills had for seven years
been at the National Assembly, adding that the president’s quick assent
to the bills will “pave the way for the establishment of the Nigerian
International Financial Centre and other ancillary requirements in line
with international best practice.”
Emefiele said the CBN was ready “to support the e-governance project
in Nigeria as way of deepening payment system in the country as well, as
help enthrone transparency and accountability. It is in this light that
the CBN has been supportive of the FSS2020 project as a way of
establishing an international financial centre in Abuja with all the
benefits accruable from the establishment like the Dubai model.”
The CBN described the three bills as unique because of the number of
years they had spent at the National Assembly, saying the CBN
therefore ”plead with Mr. President to take time out and look at the
bills and give them his assent because they will help to move this
country forward.”
Also at the ceremony, Anambra State Governor, Mr. Willy Obiano said
the deployment of information communication technology (ICT) in the
state’s governance structure had boosted its internally generated
revenue (IGR) from N500 million monthly to N1.4 billion. He urged the
Federal Government and states of the federation to borrow a leaf from
the Anambra experiment.
He said the move has also helped the state to fight crime, improve
its security network and manage workforce by building a comprehensive
data bank for the state.
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