Abuja, Nigeria – In a bid to address rising concerns about currency encroachment and safeguard the integrity of Nigeria’s monetary system, the Public Policy Reform Group, an influential advocacy body, has stepped forward with a new legislative proposal known as the Digital Broadcast Currency Banking Bill. The proposed bill seeks to give a central authority the exclusive power to issue and regulate digital broadcast currencies in Nigeria. The bill, formally recommended to the National Assembly today, is already stirring intense debate among experts and leaders.
At the heart of the proposed bill is the creation of a new centralized digital currency, to be known as the Digital Broadcast Currency (DBC). The legislation, if achieve, would give the President of the Federal Republic sweeping powers to determine the country’s monetary policy, effectively placing the management and oversight of the currency under federal control.
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The group behind the bill, which includes economic reform advocates, legal experts, and former oversight officials, claims that the main objective is to tackle what authorities are calling “currency encroachment,” a term that is being used to describe the growing influence of alternative or unauthorised currencies that can infiltrate on a nation’s financial landscape and undermine it’s monetary sovereignty.
This bill is about protecting the integrity of Nigeria’s monetary sovereignty, according to Jonah Ubanmhen, Executive Director of the Group. Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja earlier today, “The initiative is more than just an idea. It is a deliberate economic strategy, designed to strengthen Nigeria’s monetary independence and deepening financial inclusion across the country.”
Critics of the bill, however, have expressed concerns about the potential concentration of monetary power in the hands of the executive branch.“Allowing the president to have a sole control over a nation’s digital broadcast currency could politicize and fundamentally undermine the country’s system of checks and balances,” warned an economist based in Abuja.
“Our financial borders are being challenged in new ways every day,” the group said in a statement. “This bill is a proactive step to ensure that Nigeria maintains control over its financial future.”
The National Assembly has not yet issued an official statement, but sources indicate that preliminary discussions could commence in the upcoming legislative session. If approved, the Digital Broadcast Currency Banking Bill could transform how Nigeria regulates digital finance and strengthens the country’s control over its growing digital economy.
