Daily Independent Online.
*
Wednesday, July 21, 2004.
NASS mayinvoke law against CBN
By Chesa Chesa
National
Assembly,
Abuja
The Senate Committee on Banks, Insurance
and Financial Institutions on Tuesday insisted that it would allow the law to
run its full course should the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) without superior
argument, maintain its stand on
the controversial N25 billion recapitalisation directive to commercial banks.
The Chairman of the committee, Senator Zik
Sunday Ambuno, along with his deputy, Senator Farouk Bello, told Senate
correspondents in Abuja that contrary to the impression they created on Monday,
the committee was yet to make a “categorical statement” endorsing
the CBN position, since consultation were still ongoing.
Ambuno accused the CBN Governor, Charles
Soludo and his directors of breaching a gentleman’s agreement they
reached with the committee not to divulge details of their closed-door session
on Monday.
Soludo had told reporters that the apex
bank would maintain the N25 billion recapitalisation ceiling while Ambuno had
also told reporters that Soludo “means well” and that the committee
has been assured that the panic caused by the directive was unnecessary.
Tuesday, however, Ambuno and Bello
declared, “If the CBN insists, the National Assembly could also insist on
what the law says. The law will take its course.”
They argued that while the Banks and Financial
Institutions Act allows the CBN to prescribe banks’ minimum capital base,
it did not give the apex bank powers to fix minimum shareholders’ funds.
So, the National Assembly could look into that to check the CBN if it is in the
national interest,” they stated.
