Yar'Adua names Sanusi new CBN gov


Soludo hands over to Ebi

By Ade Ogidan (Lagos), Madu Onuorah and Mathias Okwe (Abuja)
AFTER months of intense lobbying and intrigues, President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, yesterday, named Mr. Sanusi Lamido Aminu Sanusi as the new Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).



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The President, in a letter he forwarded to the Senate on Sanusi's appointment, requested "for an expeditious consideration of the nomination."

Yar'Adua also asked the Upper House to confirm the appointment of Mr. Babatunde Lemo for a second term as deputy governor of the apex bank.

Forty-seven-year-old Sanusi, until yesterday, the Group Managing Director of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, was educated at St. Anne's Primary School, Kakuri, Kaduna and Kings College, Lagos.

He got his B. Sc. in Economics from Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria in 1981 and the Masters degree also in Economics, from the same university in 1983.

In 1991, he proceeded to the International University of Africa, Khartoum, Sudan, where he read Sharia and Islamic Studies.

He began his working career as a Graduate Assistant in Economics Department of ABU from 1983 to 1985, from where he joined Icon Limited (Merchant Bankers) as senior officer.

Sanusi resigned from the company in 1991 to pursue his studies in Arabic Studies. He returned to the banking industry in May, 1997, when he joined United Bank for Africa Plc (UBA), as a principal manager in the Credit Risk Management Division. He rose to become the Deputy General Manager in January 2002 and General Manager in March 2005.

The new CBN chief joined First Bank on September 5, 2005, as Executive Director, Risk and Management Control, a post he held until January 1, this year, when he emerged the bank's group managing director and chief executive officer.

Sanusi is expected to build on the legacy of his predecessor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who was the architect of banking sector reforms, which created some of Africa's biggest financial services institutions and deepened the country's capital markets.

But beyond banking oversight, Sanusi faces a heady list of investor expectations, including steering the country through the global downturn and forging ahead with reforms to make monetary policy more responsive to the market.

Soludo was lauded as a passionate economist, whose reforms pushed Nigeria's banking sector forward, by decades.

Indeed, President Yar'Adua has sent a letter of commendation to the former CBN boss.

The letter read: "As your tenure as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria comes to a glorious end, I write on behalf of the government and people of Nigeria to place on record our debt of gratitude to you for your dedicated service and uncommon sense of duty over the past five years.

"I am confident that your worthy antecedents in the CBN and in prior appointments in the service of our nation, remain sources of inspiration to an entire generation.

"As I wish you even more astounding successes in the years ahead, it is my fervent hope that you will readily avail us of your distinguished service, when the need arises in the future."

Soludo, yesterday handed the reins of the apex bank to the Deputy Governor (Corporate Services), Mr. Ernest Ebi, the most senior of the four deputy governors in the CBN.

Ebi is to act pending the clearance of Sanusi by the Senate.

At the emotion-laden event at the CBN premises yesterday, Soludo thanked management and employees for supporting his tenure and urged them to extend same to his successor.

He confirmed that Yar'Adua had commended him for his contribution to national development.

It was a mixed grill as some members of staff struggled to hold their tears while others, who discussed in hush tones, expressed delight at the development.

Also yesterday, Soludo put off indefinitely the apex bank's Monetary Policy Committee's (MPC) meeting earlier fixed for today.

No reason was given for the postponement contained in a statement posted on the apex bank's website yesterday. Attempts by The Guardian to get explanation were not successful as calls made to the Corporate Affairs Department of the bank were not picked.

The MPC is the highest economic think-tank of the apex bank where major decisions driving monetary policies such as interest rates and other measures are adopted for implementation by the country's economic planners.

Soludo, who addressed the press at the end of the MPC on May 22, 2009, which turned out to be the last he would be presiding, had explained that the liberalisation of the forex transaction was adopted because the outlook for both the official and parallel markets had remained stable and positive.

The jostle for the CBN job became controversial when a serving governor and minister were allegedly being considered for the office by Yar'Adua.

The Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State, who is also a son-in-law of the President and Minister of State for Finance, Remi Babalola, have however denied eyeing the job.

The non re-appointment of Soludo is believed to have been scuttled by his critics, who started their campaign long before the expiration of his tenure. They cited the African Finance Corporation (AFC) saga, when they alleged that Soludo caused Nigeria to lose millions of dollars in the venture. But a committee set up to investigate the funds invested in the AFC by CBN exonerated Soludo, when it found out that no money was lost.

The past Nigerian heads of the bank included Aliyu Mai-Borno (Borno, 1963-1967), Clement Isong (Akwa-Ibom, 1972-1975), Adamu Ciroma (Yobe, 1975-1977), Ola Vincent (Lagos, 1977-1982), Abdulkadir Ahmed (Bauchi, 1982-1993), Paul Ogwuma (Abia, 1993-1999), Joseph Sanusi (Ondo, 1999-2004), and Soludo (Anambra, 2004 till yesterday).

Apart from Yuguda, others earlier tipped for the office were the present Minister of National Planning, Shamsudeen Usman (Kano), who was former Deputy Governor of the CBN and immediate past Minister of Finance; Mailafia Obadiah (Nasarawa), an economist and also former Deputy Governor of CBN; Mohammed Hayatudeen (Borno).