The face-off between the National Assembly and the Executive seems to be over as the Senate has approved that the nominees for the position of the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, and Members of the Monetary Policy Committee MPC be screened for confirmation.
In a point of order raised at plenary by the Chairman Senate Committe on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions, Senator Rafiu Ibrahim, appealed to the lawmakers to step down on their hard stance on the confirmation of appointments sent by President Buhari. The prayer was granted by colleagues.
The Senator who noted that the continued delay in the confirmation of the deputy governor of the CBN and members of the MPC was negatively affecting the economy, especially foreign investments.
It would be recalled that the Senate had threatened not to consider any nominations sent to it by the executive over the refusal of the presidency to sack the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crime Commission, Mr. Ibrahim Magu.
The Executive was reported to have argued that the Senate lacks the power to confirm the EFCC Chairman in the first place. A Federal high court sitting in Abuja however affirmed the powers of the senate to confirm or reject the President’s appointments.
The Monetary Policy Committee MPC is the highest policy making of the Central Bank in reviewing economic and financial conditions in the economy. It also determine appropriate stance of policy in the short to medium term, and adopt changes when necessary. Lastly, it communicates monetary and financial policy decisions effectively to the public.
The MPC meeting has not held this year, due to an absence of quorum. This led to the apex bank leaving MPR and other variables unchanged.
