House of Rep Summon Central Bank Governor, Finance Minister, and Others for Testimony

Cardoso

The House of Representatives has summoned the Central Bank Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, to address them on the economic situation of the country, according to the House Clerk, Yahaya Danzaria.

Mr Danzaria announced on Monday, saying that Mr Cardoso will speak during plenary on the naira’s depreciation and other monetary challenges. The CBN governor will be joined by other key officials from the financial sector for a sectorial debate. They include the Finance and Economy Minister, Wale Edun; the Budget and Planning Minister, Atiku Bagudu; and the Federal Inland Revenue Service Chairman, Zacch Adedeji. They will update the lawmakers on the progress of the 2024 budget implementation and the nation’s readiness to mobilise the required funds.

The Speaker of the House, Abbas Tajudeen, declared last week that the financial sector debate would be held to assess the budget performance and the economic outlook.

The House had previously held a similar debate for the security sector in November last year, where the service chiefs, the Customs boss Bashir Adeniyi, and Police chief Kayode Egbetokun appeared. However, the security situation has not improved since then, as violence and kidnapping remain rampant. The current administration under President Bola Tinubu has embarked on radical reforms in the foreign exchange and petroleum sectors, which have inflation. Mr Tinubu scrapped the controversial petroleum subsidy scheme and introduced a unified foreign exchange regime shortly after he assumed office. 

These moves have caused the naira to lose value significantly, as the currency faces liquidity issues and speculative activities by traders. Mr Cardoso, however, defended the reforms on Monday, saying that they will attract foreign investors who are interested in the government’s policies. He assured the investors’ inflow would stabilise the FX market and boost the economy. He urged Nigerians to be patient and optimistic, as the government is working to improve their living standards. However, many Nigerians are feeling the pinch of the high inflation, as the naira has fallen by about 68 percent since Mr Tinubu took over; 50 percent in 2023 alone.