CBN plans digital currency launch before December

• Reps back bill stopping foreign accounts for bankers

The Central Bank of Nigeria has said it will launch a digital currency before the end of this year.

The Director, Information Technology, CBN, Rakiya Mohammed, disclosed this on Thursday, during a virtual media briefing at the end of a Bankers Committee meeting also held virtually.

He said, “The digital currency would be accessible to all Nigerians. Just like everybody has access to cash, everybody will have access to the central bank’s digital currency. Let me state categorically that cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin and the rest of them are not under the control of the central bank; they are purely private decisions that individuals make.

“We have spent over two years studying this concept of central bank’s digital currency and we have identified the risks. And it is one of the reasons why I said we are setting up a central governance structure that would involve all industry stakeholders to access all the risks as we continue on this journey.

“Very soon we would make an announcement on the date for the launch and by the end of the year we should have the digital currency.”

Meanwhile, a bill seeking to prohibit bank employees from operating foreign accounts has passed second reading at the House of Representatives.

The lawmakers voted in favour of the bill after which it was referred to the house committee on anti-corruption.

The bank employees’ declaration of assets act amendment bill also seeks to mandate the bankers to declare assets of their spouses and children less than 18 years old.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had in March ordered those in the banking sector to declare their assets in accordance with the act, raising questions as to the legality of such directive.

The bank employees’ declaration of assets act requires bank board members, managing director, general managers, clerks, cashiers, messengers, cleaners, drivers, and any other category of workers — whether part‐time, casual or temporary — to declare their assets.

Leading the debate on the bill on Thursday, sponsor of the bill, Shina Peller, said it had become necessary to expand the scope of the act regarding those who should declare their assets.

He said the act was “aimed at monitoring the activities of bank employees and customs officers to ensure that their lifestyle reflects their earnings, and to discourage them from engaging in corrupt practices.”

“However, human society is very dynamic; as society changes, it becomes imperative to amend the laws to reflect the changes in the society for the laws to serve their purposes effectively and efficiently. It is for this reason that I am proposing the amendment to this Act,” he said.

Peller said the bill sought to extend the application of the act to employees of other financial institutions including pension funds agencies, insurance firms, stocks brokers among others.

He added that when passed into law, the bill would transfer the responsibility of keeping assets declaration form from the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to the institution’s regulatory body.

“The principal act applies to employees of the Nigerian Customs Service. With the coming into effect of the 1999 constitution (as amended) on the 29th of May 1999, all public servants, including employees of the customs service must declare their assets to the Code of Conduct Bureau,” he said.

“This amendment bill addresses this anomaly by removing the employees of the customs service from employees which the principal act applies to.

“Under the principal act, it is only the assets of bank employee concerned which shall be declared in the form. The act does not apply to the spouse and unmarried children under 18 years of the declarant. This is another loophole of the Act which may be exploited.”