The Nation Newspaper

Tag: watchdog

  • The press can’t be watchdog without investigative journalism

    An investigative report is one that reveals new findings, based on the work and research of a reporter.  He does some preliminary research before launching an investigation or even pitching it to his editor. He must know the laws so he does not break them and knows how to use them to his benefit. Support his work with documents when possible and thinks about what documents he needs and how he can obtain them. He must not rush into interviews but must get as much information as he can first, so he can ask intelligent questions.  When he does get the interview, he is ready to challenge evasive answers.

    He must fact-check everything from documents to information obtained through sources. He avoids undercover investigations and ambush interviews unless when necessary. He always allows the subject of his investigation a fair chance to respond.  He must not be desperate to write his story in the face of evidence to the contrary. If he finds that his hypothesis is wrong, be prepares to shift gears and change his story. He must keep in touch with his sources on a regular basis and follow-up on stories.

    Investigative journalism is capital intensive and can only be perfectly practised in a society with vibrant economy that is private-driven. The much-taunted constitutional role of the press as the Forth Estate of the Realms and Press Freedom, tantamount to theory lacking pragmatic praxis without investigative journalism. The press in Nigeria and on the African continent in general still has a long way to go to wear the toga provided it by the grund norm that is the constitution. As long as government remains the highest spender through contract awards and business patronage, investigative journalism cannot find strong roots in Nigeria and Africa.

    In view of the overarching status groups and ethno religious prism through which Nigerian successive governments sees governance, the urgent need for investigative journalism practice becomes very necessary in the media agenda setting. There have been too many conspiracies by different sections of the ruling elites in the process of political power contestations culminating in the breakdown of law and order. Large-scale embezzlement of public funds through unexecuted contracts leading to acute deficit in social infrastructures is recurrent decimal.

    There are too many of these causal factors of the social anomie situation in Nigeria today that pragmatic investigative journalism can dig deeper to uncover. The fact about such social issues can be researched, investigated by investigative journalists to augment and accentuate the ineffective security agencies shackled by bureaucratic red tapeism. The state is overburden with thick hierarchical responsibilities and often fails to adopt risk management strategies in dealing with social conflicts.

    Just like investigative journalists, other professionals in social sciences and management should be allowed to provide their expertise as consultants to various government agencies including the national assemblies. Government decisions in its ramifications should be based on proven professional inputs and advises. It is often the unintended consequences of events that are harder to deal with especially; violent conflicts, militancy, insurgency, terrorism, crime and social upheaval leading to a revolution.

    Until the press galvanises itself to reclaim the media industry and begin to train practitioners in the act of investigative journalism, the society will remain at the mercy of different shades of politicians.  The political elites freed from either real division above or significant accountability below can afford to enrich themselves without distraction or retribution. If there was an attempt, it had to do with clash of the bourgeoisie divergent group interests. Exposure ceases to matter very much as impunity becomes the rule, like Bankers, leading Politicians do not go to jail in Nigeria as they deploy looted funds to fight back tenaciously. Corruption is not just but a function of the decline in the bourgeois political order but a symptom of the economic regime propped by capital to sustain the state in power.

    The political elites or actors do not see any reason for a paradigm shift in governance, planning, policy formulation and implementation. They do not care about liberation and emancipation of their fellow citizens trapped in the vicious cycle of hardship, poverty that underdevelopment has over time wrecked on the continent. They blindly follow in the footsteps of their colonial predecessors as comprador bourgeois who lack the spirit of inventiveness, entrepreneurship and discovery. They gloriously celebrate oppression, exploitation and abuse of power to the detriment of egalitarianism and social justice for all.

    Yet the state and its failing emasculates and weaken social institutions which makes it easy and convenient for politicians, military top brass and other state actors in connivance with capitalist agents to plunder the wealth of the nation with impunity.

    • By Comrade Ogbu A. Ameh

    National Convenor

    Generation for Change Africa Initiative GFCAI

    onwaters2011@gmail.com

  • A thought for the watchdog

    A thought for the watchdog

    Technology is undoubtedly impacting journalism in the manner not many anticipated and, so, only a few are able to adapt. The concept of time and space is being aggressively redefined. The newsroom is no longer demarcated by walls. The market becomes invisible. The consequence: more and more professionals of old are the new casualties of the emerging digital divide.

    The foregoing tectonic shift in the media landscape provided a perfect backdrop for a 2-day conversation at the 13th All Nigerian Editors Conference and Extraordinary Convention held at the iconic Presidential Hotel, Port Harcourt last week with the theme, “Nigerian Media: Balancing Professionalism, Advocacy and Business”.

    Given the relevance of the topic, little wonder that the turnout was staggering. It was a parade of generations of editors. From professional patriarchs/matriarchs like Ismaila Isa Funtua, Segun Osoba, Najeem Jimoh, Ray Ekpu, Nduka Obaigbena, Kabiru Yusuf, Bayo Onanuga, Comfort Obi to Dupe Ajayi-Gbadebo.

    From Dele Momodu, Victor Ifijeh, Tony Oyinma, Tony Akiotu, Eniola Bello, Raheem Adedoyin, Gbemiga Ogunleye, Eric Osagie, Bonnie Iwuoha, Waheed Odusile, Gbenga Aruleba, Shola Oshunkeye, Simon Kolawole, Steve Osuji, Steve Nwosu, Rose Moses, Kelly Elisha, Azuh Arinze to Abraham Ogbodo.

    Excited Guild President, Mrs. Funke Egbemode, attested: “This is largest gathering of Nigerian editors we have had under one roof in recent times.”

    Long before the economic recession was formally declared by the Nigerian state, the media industry had surely long been afflicted. As Times editor 35 years ago when national population was less than 70 million, Ekpu recalled that his paper sold over half a million copies. Today, with the population now over 180m, dozens of national dailies hardly sell up to 150,000!

    This has resulted in exceedingly hard times in the industry with editors and reporters often left to endure irregular pay.

    To simply assume diminishing income is the only factor will be reductionistic. The keynote speaker, Azubuike Ishiekwene (of the wave-making The Interview magazine) argues that only a return to “robust and honest journalism” offers the hope of recovery. The sort that gives readers value for money.

    With the deep encroachment of social media, today’s media entrepreneurs need to bring depth and perspective to breaking news to attract readers and retain their loyalty thereafter.

    To put the current decline in bold relief, Azu shocked the packed hall by dredging up a piece of history: “The West African Pilot (founded by immortal Nnamdi Azikiwe) of Thursday, May 19, 1938, Vol. 1, No 148, had on its front left ear the net circulation figure for the previous week: 8,264 copies. Seventy-nine years later, in 2017, newspapers are hiding their print figures under the table.”

    Of course, circulation figures are being fiercely kept secret in order to keep advertisers.

    To survive the harsh economic climate, discussants agreed the time has come for managers of the media business to tweak their models to focus more on content where their core competence lies and explore means of outsourcing problematic aspects like printing and transport to professionals in order to maximize their bottomline. These two cost centres often dig the biggest holes in the balance sheet.

    Smart investors might, therefore, wish to take advantage of this window by setting up a concern that provides printing solutions at competitive rates.

    In the 80s, for instance, MKO Abiola’s Concord Group floated the idea of Bulk Delivery with a view to helping the industry achieve cost efficiency in haulage.

    But big ego would not allow competitors take advantage of this relatively cheaper option. Some felt it was like exposing their miserable rump to a rival. So, they continued to hemorrhage in silence until their publications finally disappeared.

    Expectedly, the conversation was most animated when it entered the material welfare of the editor. Of course, opinions were divided on ethical limitations vis-a-vis the hot pursuit of bread and butter. Those who, disillusioned by reports of veterans reduced to indigence, therefore argued passionately that the editor should not shy away from taking advantage of any opportunity to better themselves materially were readily countered by the idealists who harp on the ethics of the profession.

    On the other hand, some mooted the idea of the editor “not eating alone”. That is, they should not pursue their own prosperity in so exclusive a manner that leaves their organization to die of starvation. Holders of this view were, of course, also reminded of the ethical obligations of the fourth estate of the realm as the designated custodian of the society’s moral boundaries.

    Fiery as the fireworks were from both ends of the spectrum, the consensus at the end of the day is that the hour has come for the editor to wake up from complacency, if not lethargy. The pressure of work is no excuse for them not to seek to acquire other skill/proficiency which may become handy after relinquishing the editorial throne.

    They were also advised to cultivate lifestyle that is sustainable when no longer the darling of the high and the mighty. The glamour of the office should not occlude them from saving for the rainy day. Financial literacy is critical.

    There were few success testimonies. Someone recalled how taking a degree in law on a part-time basis became her fall-back position after a career in journalism. Another narrated how a modest amount invested in a piece of land in Abuja from a personal saving as editor yielded more than fourteen-fold capital appreciation when the property was sold few years later.

    The other highlight of the event was the review of the constitution of the Guild with new far-reaching provisions to reflect the growing influence of electronic newspapers as well enable more transparency in the Guild’s administration.

    As is customary, the convention climaxed with a review of infrastructural strides by the host, Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State. And “Mr. Project” has a surfeit to showcase. Those interested joined the tour of a number of ongoing projects within the Garden City. We helicoptered to Bori in the heart of Ogoniland where the administration unveiled re-constructed Birabi School and Abonema where massive sand-filling of the swamp was ongoing to build a road to link the community to the jetty.

    Of the sites visited, the most significant – if not sentimental – is, in my view, the effort to uplift the Creek waterside as part of the urban renewal initiative in Port Harcourt. When completed, it will give a new lease of life to estimated 40,000 people among the urban poor. One of its features is an ultra-modern jetty to provide for the swamp-dwellers a better access to the oil city.

    The Creek waterside rehabilitation was listed in the citation for the recent United Nation commendation for the Wike administration on environment regeneration.

    On a jovial note, the governor and his aides would, however, not be drawn into reacting to comments by the opposition lest “We donate political oxygen to our opponents now gasping for breath in Abuja”, insisting “They usually tender newspaper comments against Wike for relevance in Abuja”, but “We will rather remain focused on working for Rivers people”.

    Overall, for the Nigerian editors, it was no doubt a convention for deep introspection for a new self-awareness.

     

    My error on Stalin

    Contrary to my claim in last week’s piece as regard the circumstances under which Joseph Stalin’s uttered “How many division does the Pope command?”, it was unrelated to the demise of Pope John Paul II. It was one of the occasions my spell/fact check software failed me before production deadline. Apologies to readers for committing what could be mistaken in today’s Nigeria as “hate speech” against the memory of the likable Pope.

    First, Stalin predeceased the Polish-born Pope by about half a century.

    Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah was among readers who wrote to draw my attention to the error of fact. He was gracious enough to provide more illumination:

    “First, I was at the funeral of Pope John Paul 11 and had a good front seat and  I  can attest that I did not see Joseph Stalin there. He could not be there because he died on 5th March, 1953 while Pope John Paul 11 was buried, April 18th, 2005. If he resurrected, he definitely was not at the Vatican that day.

    “Secondly, true, the much used quotation belongs to Joseph Stalin, but he made the point in response to the French whose government had requested that Stalin stop persecuting the Catholic Church. He spoke to the then French Foreign Minister, Mr. Pierre Laval in 1935.

    “I hope this clarification helps the readers of your much respected column.”

    Many thanks to the Bishop, J.O.O. (a.k.a “London Boom”) and my brother, Prince Emeka Obasi, and others too numerous to mention.

     

     

  • Weakness of the watchdog

    Although the story is still developing, it is unflattering  that two major media players are facing  weighty corruption-related allegations: Raymond Dokpesi, founder of DAAR Communications Plc, owners of African Independent Television (AIT) and Ray Power; and Thisday publisher Nduka Obaigbena.

    Corruption is no respecter of persons or institutions. It only respects self-respect, which may act as armour against corrupting influences. The two politically exposed media owners enmeshed in the outrageous corruption narrative that has demystified the office of National Security Adviser (NSA) have only demonstrated the weakness of the watchdog.  The troubles of the prominent media proprietors named in the unfolding corruption scandal involving the former NSA in the Goodluck Jonathan presidency, Sambo Dasuki, teach useful lessons about the media’s vulnerabilities.

    The media’s watchdog role does not mean it is invulnerable to corruption. Ironically, the media’s responsibility means it is open to corruption. For instance, it goes without saying that the media’s customary investigation of official corruption comes with possibilities, including the corruption of the investigator. The likelihood of media corruption is even greater when media owners are more power-friendly than people-friendly.

    What was deployed in defence of Dokpesi Snr had an opposite effect. A statement by Raymond Dokpesi Jnr said his father’s accusers were mistaken. According to him, the media chief received N2.1 billion from Dasuki, but it was payment for media services “to promote and project the achievements and highlight the challenges of the Jonathan administration whilst demystifying false information gleefully circulated by the propaganda machinery of the then opposition party.” He added curiously: “We must further emphasise that the proposal had absolutely nothing to do with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), nor the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC).”  It was an absurd effort to separate Jonathan and his reelection campaign from his party.

    The family’s statement may well be correct in claiming that the Jonathan administration structurally allowed the office of the NSA to accommodate “multiple budgetary sub-heads including for communication and information”.  In other words, the payment to Dopkesi from the NSA’s coffers may not necessarily be described as a fraudulent diversion of funds meant to fight terrorism.

    However, beyond the question of its appropriateness, the structure that facilitated such suspicious payment to Dokpesi leaves several questions unanswered.  A report quoted a source at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC): “Our investigators have isolated these areas of probe: Were the funds budgeted for? If not, what informed extra-budgetary expenses? How much was actually voted for arms procurement? How were the funds sourced? Who or which agency awarded all the contracts? Who were the contractors? Was there any evidence of delivery of equipment?”

    The evidence of a fluid context where alleged media services are difficult to separate from anti-terror activities is the reason Dokpesi has questions to answer. It is also the reason Obaigbena issued a defensive statement from the US, saying: “We have never received any suspicious funds from the Office of the National Security Adviser. All funds received from the Office of the National Security Adviser were payments for compensation…”

    Obaigbena said he got N550 million as compensation for the Boko Haram bombings of his newspaper’s offices in Abuja and Kaduna in April 2012. He added that as President of the Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN), he got N120 million as compensation for 12 newspaper companies whose copies were seized by soldiers in June 2014. It is curious that investigators said these payments were made to General Hydrocarbons Limited controlled by Obaigbena for “energy consulting”. Even stranger are denials by some of the affected newspapers whose officials claimed they never received any payment for compensation.

    It is ironic that media players have found themselves at the centre of a multi-billion arms scam. It was an open secret in the Jonathan presidential era that people in power ironically fuelled the Boko Haram insurgency by fraudulent acts. The anti-terror war became a pro-terror effort because of the weakening of state-capacity by government officials expected to win the war.

    Under the Jonathan administration, of all the arguments to redeem the image of the Nigerian military as it battled unimpressively and unconvincingly against terrorism, the most mystifying was the illogic that blamed media treatment of the anti-terror war for the continuing demystification of the country’s armed forces. The signs of a possible prolongation of the already protracted defiance of state capacity by the Islamist militia Boko Haram were observable, despite oft-repeated assurances from official quarters that the insurrectionists were doomed.

    It is unclear to what extent the extension of the anti-terror war was due to fraud-related factors. With the allegations against Dokpesi and Obaigbena, it would appear that media players helped to create an enabling environment for terrorists, wittingly or unwittingly. This is because, in the last analysis, fraud-related activities that made nonsense of the anti-terror campaign cannot be a plus for the media.

    It is noteworthy that the print and electronic media are represented in this drama, showing that corruption has no boundaries. The media’s watchdog role should position it on the side of the people. When the media betrays its essence by taking sides with unprogressive structures of power, it defeats the purpose of having a watchdog in the society.

    The media must demonstrate an understanding of its responsibility and appreciate its burden of truth. At bottom, the allegations against Dokpesi and Obaigbena show not only the corrupting influence of power but also the powerful influence of corruption.

  • Election reporting: Knocks for the watchdog

    Election reporting: Knocks for the watchdog

    The role of the media throughout the electioneering period was under the spotlight recently at a two-day workshop organised by Media Scholars Network (MSN). At the event, the partisan role of the media was highlighted by scholars and professionals, Assistant Editor LEKE SALAUDEEN reports.

    Media scholars and practitioners gathered recently to give an appraisal on the performance of the media before, during and after the presidential election. It was at the two-day workshop organised by the Media Scholar Network (MSN) in collaboration with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). It was held at the Conference Hall, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, under the theme: “Fair Election Reporting: Sustaining Best Practices”.

    Convener, Professor Ayo Olukotun, set the ball rolling when he said the role of the media in election coverage is an issue that has generated debate and controversy at scholarly and polemical levels. It is not for nothing that observer groups monitoring elections in developing democracies have constantly fingered the lack of media level playing-field at election seasons as an obstacle to free and fair elections as to democratic consolidation.

    Olukotun, a lecturer at the Department of International Relations, Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, noted that the international observer groups monitoring Nigerian elections such as the European Union (EU) have complained consistently of biased coverage of elections, as well as differential access of political parties to the media. Their complaint is corroborated by the Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), a coalition of domestic civil society groups which is engaged in election monitoring, he said.State-owned media are particularly guilty of this, according to the don. “They do not operate as public service media, but as more or less the mouthpieces of the political parties that control them. Also in the same category are privately-owned media where interests of the proprietor interfere with objective reporting,” he added.

    Professor Lai Oso of the Department of Mass Communication, Lagos State University (LASU), also lamented that a lot of media organisations took sides and were biased in their reportage and coverage of different political parties and their activities. He said rather than give fair hearing to all candidates and their political parties, some media organisations decided to show solidarity to some candidates and to vilify others. This, he said, was a total deviation from the code of ethics that guides the media profession.

    On ethical conduct, Oso said: “Good journalism requires decent conduct that conforms to acceptable social norms, values and ethical codes.” Oso was equally miffed by the role played by the management of some print and electronic media. He said they threw caution to the wind and behaved like politicians.

    He said: “Editors dished out opinions as news, projected hate speeches, hate documentaries for selfish interest. Some newspapers editors could not apply their sense of judgment to turn down adverts that was intended to incite the public against opposition candidates or leaders? Why should an editor accept a death wish advert to be published in his paper? Why should editors be consulting for political parties campaign organisations? These are sad developments that must be addressed by regulatory agencies for the sake of the future of journalism in this country.”

    According to him, “the media was expected to be the unifying factor for all interest groups, but unfortunately some media executives were brazenly partisan. If politicians come with raw and indecorous content, is it not the media’s responsibility as professionals to determine what will suit the sensitivities and sensibilities of Nigerian readers and viewers by toning down such adverts or asking the advertiser to go and refine his production?

    In his paper titled: “Objectivity in Journalism: An Elusive Ideal”, Oso explained that the way and manner political gladiators conducted themselves and their politics no doubt influenced the way journalists behaved as producers of news and the type of political news available to them. “In a society where almost everything is seen from the prisms of religion, ethnicity, region and other differences, it is very difficult for the journalist to adhere to any universal notion of objectivity or other ethical principle,” he said.

    In his own assessment, a South Africa-based communication specialist, Mr Bunmi Makinwa, opined that the media could have done much better than they did in the coverage of pre-voting phase of the presidential election. According to him: “The crucial communication exchange between candidates and electorate, facilitated by the media, hardly took place. The knowledge of candidates, understanding of issues, analysis of performance of candidates and political parties hardly featured in any serious way in many of the media.

    “The mass media failed unreservedly in its professional duty of being a source of information and education of the populace. In analyses of information, verification of facts by parties, ascertaining claims by candidates, there was too little of substance. And whatever little that was done was not prominent in most of the media and even less so in newspapers that traditionally serve such important purposes. Many candidates are yet really unknown and surprises should be expected from people who will assume political offices.

    “Even in the use of adverts, positioning of candidates and political parties, the public media especially did very poorly. A major area of uneasiness was the easy acquiescence of the official media organisations to unbridled use (more of misuse) by their government owners, both federal and state. The situation went even further: public roads, offices, buildings and other infrastructure were “colonized” by the said governments and wantonly used for their messaging, adverts and promotion, including excluding opposition from their uses, even when they wanted to pay as required. Such abuse of official organs and structures should stop. There should be better regulation, monitoring and sanctions of uses of public facilities during electioneering. It is encouraging that some political parties sought court interventions and obtained judgment against the abuse.”

    In assessing the media coverage of the presidential election, former Editor of National Interest, Mr Tony Iyare, noted that the Nigerian Media Code of Election Coverage sets the guidelines of the conduct of journalists in reporting election issues in all spheres. Many of the guidelines, he observed, were observed in breach across board.

    For instance, Section 1.0 which deals with equitable access says: “The performance of campaign platform and public role of the Nigerian media during election requires deference to the right of parties and candidates in elections to equitable media access especially as envisaged by legislative and institutional frameworks and other relevant instruments including the Electoral Act (as amended), the Nigerian Broadcasting Code (as revised) and the Nigerian Press Organisation Code of Ethics for Nigerian journalists. It also requires giving opportunity to under- represented groups to express their views.

    Section 1.1 states the responsibility of media organisations to include: A broadcast medium shall ensure equitable allocation of time at specific but similar periods for all parties contesting elections to state their programmes; a media organisation shall regularly apply the principle of equity in the coverage and reportage of campaigns and other activities of parties and candidates contesting elections; a media organisation shall at all times uphold the right of parties and candidates to reply to allegations made against them and that a broadcast medium shall strive to ensure the participation of all parties and candidates contesting elections in political debates.

    The code also says in Section 1.2 that a media organisation shall, as a matter of deliberate editorial policy, target under-represented groups, especially women, youths, persons living with disabilities and rural dwellers in the coverage of electoral processes.

    According to Iyare, the report of the monitoring project conducted jointly by the International Press Centre and Nigerian Press Council with the support of the United Nations Development Project (UNDP) which covered some national and regional newspapers in addition to online and social medium platforms, generally applauded the media for devoting the highest percentage of the reporting of issues to campaigns, which it argued clearly showed an attemptto bring the attention of voters to what the candidates and parties stand for.

    But the report noted “it was regrettable that political and electoral conflicts had the better part of media attention than voter education which really should have been at the core of reporting for the month given the contentious issues of PVCs TVCs and card readers”.

    Speaking on the performance of the media, former Editorial Board Chairperson of the Nigerian Compass, Mrs Tayo Agunbiade said some reports were obviously biased, while many adverts contained inflammatory comments. According to her, the media didn’t exhibit a high level of professionalism in handling the last election, particularly as it regards publication of hate speeches. There were clear violations of the ethics.

    “In the aspect of conflict and sensitivity, the media failed to live up to expectations. There were sensational headlines There were significant areas of non compliance with the code of conduct while there were few areas of compliance.

    “Procedures should be established that monitor and ensure that election reporting prior to, during and after is fair, unbiased, neutral, non-partisan and not sensational. We must ensure that space are allocated to all parties fairly and reports should be balanced and not in favour of any party or persons.”

    To guide against partisan role of the media in future election coverage, Makinwa suggested that all publicly-owned media, including public service broadcasters, should respect strict rules of impartiality and balance, particularly when reporting on the governing party/parties and on government decisions and actions during an election period. This implies that equal coverage should be given to arguments in favour of both sides in any referendum.

    The media should grant all parties and candidates equitable access to communicate their messages directly with the public, either for free or at subsidised rate. Equitable access means fair and non-discriminatory access allocated according to objective criteria for measuring overall levels of support, and includes factors such as timing of access and any fees.

    Olukotun stressed the need for continuous training and re-training programmes for journalists. He said: “It is important that journalists and stakeholders in the information enterprise from time to time to meet to review their craft with a view to determining whether they are maintaining or falling short of best practices.

    “Obviously the role of the media in providing accurate information and objective reporting as well as analysis in a season of election cannot be over-emphasised. The media are crucial to the dissemination of credible information as well as providing a communication level playing field to the principal competitors and even to the electoral umpire, namely the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).”

  • CIBN gets panel to amend law for watchdog role

    The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has raised a committee to amend its Act to enable it to perform certain functions.

    The amendment may not be unconnected with the House of Representatives plan to cede the banking supervisory power of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to the Institute. The Committee, The Nation learnt, is considering the inclusion of a section on privileges to empower its members.

    The CIBN Act 2007 was enacted by the National Assembly. The law stipulates that no person shall be entitled to be employed as head of any of the technical departments of a bank unless he is duly registered as a member of the Institute.

    The Act also states that the Governing Council shall consist of a Chairman, who shall be the President of the Institute; two Vice-Chairmen; National Treasurer; CBN governor or his representative; managing director of the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) or his representative; six managing directors/chief executive of banks to be appointed by the Council and six persons elected by the Institute.

    Others are two past presidents of the institute; a representative each of the Ministries of Finance; Education; and Mortgage/Micro Finance Banking Institutions (alternates) among others. There is also a representative each of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

    The Chairman, wHouse of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, Mr. Jones Onyereri told The Nation on phone that there is need to strengthen the CIBN to play more roles in the financial services sector.

    He said: “With the kind of challenges we have, the time has come that we should separate that function from CBN. Make an independent one; probably the Financial Supervisory Committee, to deal with issues of bank supervision.We need to hear from CIBN and then take it from there.”

    The legislator said it would be an integral focus of the House to ensure that it separates banking supervision function from CBN this year. “The core function of the CBN is really on the monetary policy matter and we would want the bank to intensify its efforts in that area when we separate the banking supervision role from the bank,” Onyereri said.

    He urged CIBN to rise to the challenge of contributing to monetary policy issues.

    CBN Director of Communication, Ugochukwu Okoroafor, said the apex bank was a waiting details of the members’ plan.

    Banking Supervision is being handled by a special unit in the CBN headed by a Director.

    There is a bill before the House, seeking to amend the CBN Act 2007 by transferring the power of its board to approve its budget to the National Assembly. The bill also proposes to reduce the banks’ membership from 12 to seven and to appoint another person, other than the CBN governor, as the chairman of the board.