Senate Rejects Foreign Exchange Monitoring Bill

The Senate recently said “no” to a new rule about foreign money transactions. This rule, called the “Foreign Exchange (Control and Monitoring) Bill, 2024”, was created by Sani Musa. Musa is a member of the Senate and leads the Finance Committee.

The new rule wanted to change an old law from 2004. The goal was to better manage and watch over how people and companies deal with foreign money in Nigeria. Musa said this change would help Nigeria’s economy by making it easier to do business with other countries and keep money flowing smoothly.

He explained, “This new rule will help keep our money stable. It will also make sure that trading foreign money is easier and better managed.”

Senators Say “No”

But many senators did not agree with Musa. They thought this new rule might not be good. Some of the main senators who spoke up were Solomon Adeola, Tokunbo Abiru, and Aliyu Wadada. They worried that making more rules for foreign money could confuse people and make things worse.

For example, Senator Ibrahim Dankwambo said that only the president’s team should decide about such changes. Another senator, Adams Oshiomhole, agreed and said the new rule might mess up the important work that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) already does. He suggested that if the president wanted to change things, they should create a rule to make the CBN stronger, not add more rules from the Senate.

The Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, asked Musa to take back the new rule and talk more with others about it. But Musa did not want to do that. So, Akpabio called for a vote. Most senators voted against the new rule, so it will not go forward for now.