Libya’s eastern parliament approves central bank governor’s resignation

Libya’s eastern-based parliament has approved in principle the resignation of central bank governor Naji Issa and backed a member of the bank’s board of directors, Fowzi Musbah Abukhzam, to replace him on an interim basis, the parliament’s spokesperson said on Thursday.

The move sets up a new contest for control of the central bank after the divided country’s western-based High Council of State rejected Issa’s resignation and told him to stay in his post.

The eastern parliament will discuss Issa’s resignation in a coming session, its spokesperson wrote on X.

In August, Issa submitted his resignation to the two legislative chambers, saying he could not continue in his post but without explaining why, according to two documents seen by Reuters at the time.

Libya has been split since 2014 into rival authorities ‌in ⁠the west and east that emerged from the turmoil following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in a Nato-backed uprising in 2011. It is now run by the eastern-based House of Representatives that was elected in 2014 and the High Council of State ​in the west, whose ​members were drawn from a parliament elected in 2012.

After Issa submitted his resignation, both chambers had said he should stay in position until the issue was discussed.

In reaction to Thursday’s decision by the eastern parliament, HCS first deputy Naji Mukhtar Ali rejected what he called “the unilateral measures taken by the presidency of the House of Representatives”.

“You are requested to continue performing your tasks,” Ali told Issa in a letter seen by Reuters that was confirmed by a central bank official and an HCS source.

Issa took up the post in ​2024 when the two legislative chambers agreed on his appointment as a ​way to ⁠end a standoff over control of the central bank.

It did not explain the incident, but it said it holds all those involved responsible for any consequences, “foremost among them the ministry of defence, given its responsibility for protecting and securing the bank’s headquarters.”

In a separate incident, masked men tried to storm the country’s financial oversight agency on Wednesday, in what Libya’s UN mission called an “unacceptable” attempt to install a senior employee by force.