12 Newly Elected House Of Representative Members Take Oath Of Office, Pledge Allegiance

Twelve newly elected members representing various Federal Constituencies in the House of Representatives were sworn into office and pledged their allegiance on Thursday.

They secured victory in the parliamentary re-run elections held last Saturday.

Despite 15 candidates emerging victorious, only 12 were present in the House chamber for their inauguration, overseen by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen.

Among the winners, seven are affiliated with the All Progressives Congress, five with the Peoples Democratic Party, three with the Young Progressives Party, and one with the Labour Party.

Accompanied by their family members, friends, and political associates, the new lawmakers made their way to the National Assembly Complex for the ceremony.

Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has instructed its Committees on Banking Regulations and Banking Institutions to carry out an investigative hearing regarding the non-compliance of commercial banks and financial institutions with the directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria on the Net Open Position Limits (NOP).

The NOP represents the net outstanding balance of all assets, liabilities, and off-balance sheet items denominated in a specific currency.

The CBN had, in a circular, ED/FEM/PUB/FPC/001/001, dated January 31, 2024, co- and signed by its Director, Trade and Exchange, Hassan Mahmud, and Rita Sike on behalf of the Director, Banking Supervision, addressed to all banks, directed that NOP limit “should not exceed 20 per cent short or 0 per cent long of shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses using the Gross Aggregate Method.”

The circular from the apex bank further emphasized that “banks whose current NOP exceed 20 per cent short of 0 per cent long of their shareholders’ funds unimpaired by losses are required to bring them to prudential limits by February 1, 2024.”

During a plenary session chaired by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas on Wednesday, the House unanimously adopted a motion of urgent national importance concerning the imperative for banks to adhere to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) policies regarding the retention of excessive long foreign exchange and Net Open Position (NOP) limits.

The representative of Ikorodu Federal Constituency, Babajimi Benson, introduced the motion.

Benson highlighted that the CBN is entrusted with regulating the country’s monetary policies as stipulated by the CBN Act.

He emphasized that within the scope of its duties, the CBN is authorized to formulate regulations and issue directives for commercial banks and specific financial institutions to implement.