The House of Representatives Committee on Delegated Legislation has raised questions over the extent of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) powers to impose fees, charges, penalties and other financial obligations through regulations, guidelines, circulars and directives.
The issue forms part of a broader investigation by the committee into the exercise of delegated legislative powers by the apex bank and concerns over financial transactions and other monetary consequences arising from its regulatory instruments.
The investigation followed a motion titled “Investigation into the Exercise of Delegated Legislative Powers by the Central Bank of Nigeria and Related Financial Irregularities,” sponsored by Hon. Baraje Yusuf Kure, representing Bosso/Paikoro Federal Constituency of Niger State.
The committee, chaired by Hon. Richard Olufemi Bamisile, is seeking to establish whether the CBN has exercised its delegated powers within the limits prescribed by the 1999 Constitution, as amended, and relevant Acts of the National Assembly.
At the centre of the inquiry is whether financial obligations created or enforced through CBN subsidiary legislation have a clear statutory foundation.
The committee's terms of reference specifically include fees, charges, penalties, expenditures and other monetary consequences imposed, collected, authorised or incurred pursuant to regulations, rules, guidelines, circulars and directives issued by the CBN.
The lawmakers want to determine not simply whether the CBN has regulatory authority, but whether particular financial obligations imposed through its regulatory instruments fall within the authority delegated to it by the National Assembly.
Moving the motion, Kure acknowledged that the CBN is empowered under its enabling legislation to issue regulations, rules, guidelines, circulars and other subsidiary legislative instruments in carrying out its statutory responsibilities.
He, however, stressed that the exercise of those powers must remain within the limits established by the Constitution and the relevant Acts of the National Assembly.
The committee is therefore expected to examine the legal chain connecting the CBN's enabling legislation to the specific regulations and directives through which financial obligations may be created or enforced.
The CBN routinely uses regulations, guidelines and circulars to implement its supervisory and regulatory responsibilities.
Its published regulatory materials, for example, include rules dealing with payment systems, banking operations, foreign exchange, financial institutions and other areas of the financial sector. The CBN's own materials show that some of these instruments contain provisions relating to fees, sanctions and penalties.
A CBN guideline on dud cheques issued in 2025, for instance, states that it was issued pursuant to powers conferred by the CBN Act 2007, BOFIA 2020 and other extant laws, and establishes procedures involving sanctions and penalties for certain conduct.
The existence of such regulatory sanctions does not by itself establish that they are unlawful. Rather, the question before the House is whether the specific powers exercised in each case are properly grounded in the relevant enabling legislation.
The committee's inquiry raises a broader question about the limits of delegated legislation.
Under a delegated legislative framework, Parliament may confer regulatory powers on an institution to enable it to make detailed rules for implementing legislation.
The issue now being examined by the lawmakers is whether the CBN, in exercising those powers, has remained within the boundaries established by the laws that confer the authority.
For the committee, the distinction could be particularly important where a regulatory instrument has a direct financial consequence for banks, financial institutions, businesses or other regulated entities.
The investigation could therefore require the CBN to demonstrate the statutory authority supporting particular charges or penalties and explain how those powers were translated into regulations, guidelines or circulars.
To aid the investigation, the committee has summoned CBN Governor Olayemi Cardoso and relevant officials to provide regulations, guidelines, circulars, approvals, financial records, implementation reports and other documents.
The committee has also invited the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRC), KPMG, Ernst & Young (EY), economist Bismarck Rewane, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN).
The lawmakers have separately demanded the CBN's summary and full consolidated financial statements for 2024 and 2025, together with the financial reporting manuals and other documents used in preparing the accounts.
KPMG and EY have also been directed to submit copies of the CBN's audited accounts for the two years, relevant reports issued to the apex bank and the frameworks used in preparing the financial statements.
All requested documents are expected to be submitted to the committee by *October 6, 2026*.
The financial dimension of the inquiry could become particularly significant if the committee identifies specific charges or penalties whose legal basis requires further examination.
For each measure, lawmakers could potentially trace the process from the enabling Act to the CBN regulation or guideline, determine the nature of the financial obligation and establish how it was implemented and accounted for.
The committee could also examine whether the relevant financial obligations were properly disclosed in the CBN's financial records and whether the applicable accounting and regulatory frameworks were followed.
This would bring together the two major elements of the inquiry: *the legality of delegated regulatory powers and the financial consequences of exercising those powers.*
The committee has not, at this stage, declared that any particular CBN charge or penalty is unlawful.
Rather, the lawmakers are seeking to establish whether the financial obligations arising from CBN subsidiary legislation have proper statutory and regulatory foundations.
Where financial matters identified during the investigation fall outside the committee's mandate, the lawmakers have resolved to refer them to the appropriate House committee or competent authority.
The committee will subsequently consider its findings and recommendations and, where necessary, seek further directives from the House.
The outcome of the inquiry will therefore depend substantially on the regulations, legal authorities, financial records, audit documents and other evidence expected to be submitted before the October 6 deadline.
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