The Nigerian Senate has confirmed the appointment of Mrs Aisha Ahmad and Mr. Edward Adamu as substantive Deputy Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) along with three members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC).
The confirmed members of the MPC include Professor Adeola Festus Adenikinju, Dr. Aliyu Rafindadi Sanusi and Dr. Robert Chikwendu Asogwa. Meanwhile, the nomination of Dr Asheikh Maidugu was turned down on the ground that his present position as “a regular civil servant ladened with bureaucracy and red-tapism may not be independent in his judgment on each crucial decision of the MPC that affect directly the whole economy.”
When contacted, the CBN spokesman, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, who was highly elated on the development, said that the Bank and MPC would now operate smoothly with the full complements of management staff as well as MPC members. thanked Mr President for the quality of the appointees and the Senate for their timely confirmation.
The President of the Senate, Dr. Bukola Saraki,while announcing the confirmation at the plenary Thursday, March 22, 2018 charged the appointees to bring their wealth of experience to bear on their new tasks. He noted that their appointment is coming at an auspicious time when the country was just exiting recession and therefore urged them to work assiduously to further stabilise the foreign exchange market in particular and the financial system in general.
Dr Saraki further commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his foresight in appointing a seasoned professional in the person of Mr. Edward Lametek Adamu from within the CBN as a Deputy Governor and hoped that similar steps would be taken in respect of other departments and agencies of government.
The Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions had on Monday, March 19, 2018 screened the six presidential nominees. Their confirmation has put to an end the high level of suspense that heralded the nomination of some of the appointees prior to the screening exercise.
