Reps Question CBN’s Power to Impose Charges, Penalties Through Regulations

 

The House of Representatives has raised questions over the extent of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) authority to impose fees, charges, penalties and other financial obligations through regulations, guidelines, circulars and other subsidiary legislative instruments.

 

The issue has emerged as a central focus of a fresh investigation by the House Committee on Delegated Legislation into the exercise of regulatory powers by the apex bank and the financial implications of its subsidiary legislation.

 

The committee’s investigation followed a motion sponsored by Hon. Baraje Yusuf Kure, representing Bosso/Paikoro Federal Constituency of Niger State, who acknowledged the CBN’s statutory powers to issue regulations, rules, guidelines and circulars but argued that those powers must remain within the limits established by the Constitution and relevant Acts of the National Assembly.

 

At the heart of the inquiry is whether financial obligations created or imposed through CBN subsidiary legislation have a clear statutory foundation.

 

The lawmakers want to determine whether fees, charges, penalties, expenditures and other monetary consequences arising from CBN regulations were properly authorised by the enabling laws under which the apex bank exercises its powers.

 

The committee is also expected to examine the legal and statutory basis of the regulations, guidelines, circulars, directives and other instruments issued by the CBN and determine whether they were made and implemented within the powers conferred on the bank.

 

The question is particularly relevant to banks and other financial institutions because CBN regulatory instruments can impose compliance requirements and sanctions where regulated entities breach prescribed rules.

 

For example, the CBN’s 2025 guidelines for agent banking provide for sanctions and administrative penalties where participants breach specified provisions. The guidelines also give the CBN powers to impose remedial measures, including suspension or prohibition from certain activities in specified circumstances.

 

The existence of such sanctions in a CBN guideline does not, by itself, establish that they are unlawful. The issue before the lawmakers is whether particular regulatory measures have the necessary authority under the relevant enabling legislation.

 

The investigation could have wider implications for the financial services industry if the committee identifies areas where the legal basis for particular charges or penalties requires clarification.

 

For regulated institutions, the statutory foundation of regulatory charges and sanctions is important because such obligations can affect compliance costs, operating expenses and the financial consequences of breaches.

 

The committee is therefore expected to examine the chain linking the enabling Act, the CBN regulation or guideline issued under that Act and any resulting financial obligation.

 

Lawmakers also want to establish whether financial obligations have been properly authorised, collected, recorded or incurred in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

 

 

The examination of regulatory charges is taking place alongside a separate review of the CBN’s financial reporting for 2024 and 2025.

 

Committee Chairman, Hon. Richard Olufemi Bamisile, directed the CBN to submit its summary consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2025, together with relevant Financial Reporting Council documents and approvals relating to the bank’s audited consolidated and separate financial statements.

 

KPMG and Ernst & Young have also been asked to provide relevant audit documents, while Jim Obazee is expected to submit evidence and documents relating to concerns he previously raised about the CBN’s financial statements.

 

The committee has set October 6, 2026 as the deadline for the submission of the requested documents.

 

CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso and relevant officials of the apex bank are expected to appear before the committee and provide regulations, guidelines, circulars, approvals, financial records and implementation reports.

 

Other stakeholders expected to participate include the Financial Reporting Council, KPMG, Ernst & Young, economist Bismarck Rewane, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria.

 

The committee said matters falling outside its mandate would be referred to the appropriate House committee or competent authority.

 

The investigation has not established that the CBN unlawfully imposed any particular charge or penalty.

 

Rather, lawmakers are seeking the underlying legislation, regulations, financial records and other evidence to determine whether the apex bank has operated within the authority delegated to it by the National Assembly.

 

The outcome could provide greater clarity on the boundary between the CBN’s regulatory powers and the legislative powers reserved for the National Assembly, particularly where regulatory decisions create financial obligations for banks, financial institutions and other market participants.

 

The committee is expected to consider the evidence submitted by the CBN and other stakeholders before adopting its findings and recommendations and, where necessary, seeking further directives from the House.