CBN assigns roles to new deputy governors

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has assigned responsibility to the four new deputy governors confirmed by the Senate recently.

The deputy governors include Mrs. Emem Nnana Usoro, Mr. Muhammad Sani Abdullahi Dattijo, Mr. Philip Ikeazor, and Dr Bala M. Bello.

The Principal Manager at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Corporate Communication Department, Mr. Olalekan Ajayi who confirmed the news to Nairametrics in a telephone call said according to the apex bank, Bala Bello will be responsible for corporate services, and Mohammed Sani will oversee economic policy.

Philip Ikeazor is now deputy governor in charge of financial system stability (FSS), while Emem Usoro is responsible for operations.

The Senate had confirmed the appointment of Dr. Olayemi Michael Cardoso as the new Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and four others as deputy governors of the apex bank.

They were all confirmed on Tuesday following a screening conducted by the upper legislative body.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had, on September 15, 2023, approved the nomination of Cardoso to serve as the new CBN governor.

Cardoso formally assumed duty as the acting governor of the CBN last Friday, pending his confirmation by the Senate.

Similarly, the Deputy Governors-Designate also assumed duty in acting capacities.

An Economic and Development Policy Advisor, Financial Sector Leader, former Chairman of Citi Nigeria, and Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget in Lagos, Cardoso brings over three decades of managerial experience on board.

He is an alumnus of Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom, where he studied managerial and administrative studies.

The new CBN governor also holds a master’s degree in public administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, United States of America (USA).

Cardoso had described the current exchange rate in Nigeria as very worrisome but pledged that the new management of the apex bank would come up with rules that were open and transparent for the players and stakeholders in the economic sector to understand.

What the new Governor promised

He identified short-, medium- and long-term strategies to address it.

He said,

“On the issue of foreign exchange which everybody has been talking about, it is very worrisome to everybody.“It goes without saying that for the sort of country we want, we need to have an exchange rate that is very stable for a country that we all dream of.
“There are short and medium-term measures. The major short-term measure has to do with the balance of payments over a period like the sort of things that are being done already concerning ensuring that we are getting more petroleum resources and diversifying the economic base of the country.
“That, I believe, will continue by the present administration, and of course, it will take time I think we should take that as a medium-term approach.
“There are two very important issues that we will have to address if we are confirmed.
“It is what I will term un-correlational issues. We are aware that there are unsettled obligations by CBN. Whether it is $4 billion, $5 billion, or $7 billion, I don’t know but the immediate priority is to ascertain the extent.
“We need to find a way to take care of that. It will be naive for us to be expecting to succeed if we are not able to handle that side of the foreign exchange market.”

Speaking further, he said:

“Secondly, we must be transparent so that any of the players in that market will understand. We must come up with transparent rules.
“You cannot reasonably expect serious foreign investors, portfolio investors full direct investment, without addressing the short-term measures.
“Those players who will have a direct impact on our market will not do so if we do not have an open transparent system that everybody understands, that can be relied upon, and which is not subject to review at will without the involvement of critical stakeholders.
“In setting up those guidelines, one will also have to carry stakeholders along. We should be ready to engage people and share views. I think that should be a major objective to get stakeholders together and share views.
“The two things appear simple but are far more important than they appear. Those two are the immediate steps that we will take, that will go a long way to ease off the situation that we are having right now in terms of wanting investors to come in.
“Those that want to do business in Nigeria want to see this is clear and if they don’t, they will hold on to their money.
“These are the short-term measures that will be very important to us once we get in, it is what we will address.
“I know that the impact will engender greater liquidity coming into the market, those seeming withholding confidence will come back here. They will see that the coast is clear and if not, they will hold onto their money.
“We cannot reasonably expect that serious foreign investors, portfolio investors who generally have an impact on our market will do so if you do not have an open, transparent system that everybody understands and can rely on,” he said.