PROFILE: Meet Nigeria’s newly nominated CBN governor, deputy governors

President Bola Tinubu, on Friday, announced the nomination of Olayemi Cardoso to serve as the new Governor of Nigeria’s Central Bank (CBN).

The president said Mr Cardoso is to serve a term of five years in the first instance, pending his confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.

Mr Tinubu also approved the nomination of four new deputy governors of the apex bank to serve for a similar duration of five years in the first instance, pending their confirmation by the Senate, according to a statement issued by Ajuri Ngelale, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity.

The nominees according to the statement are Emem Usoro, Muhammad Abdullahi-Dattijo, Philip Ikeazor and Bala Bello.

Prior to the nomination of Mr Cardoso, Folashodun Shonubi, a deputy governor of the bank, had been the acting governor of the apex bank after Mr Tinubu suspended Godwin Emefiele in June.

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Profile

Mr Cardoso was the former chairman of Citibank Nigeria. He is a distinguished leader in the financial and development sectors with over 30 years’ experience in the private, public and not-for-profit organisations.

With diverse corporate governance experience, Mr Cardoso has also sat on the boards of Nigerian subsidiaries of Texaco and Chevron and chaired the board of EFInA, a financial sector development organisation supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

He served in government as Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget for Lagos State, where he championed the financial reform process which led to the state’s development of independent tax revenues.

In his capacity as a consultant and policy expert, Mr Cardoso has advised and collaborated with major international development organisations including the World Bank, Ford Foundation, UN Habitat, World Health Organisation and the Swedish Development Foundation.

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He is the recipient of several awards including an honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration from Aston University, his alma mater, and the Global Distinguished Alumni award from Citi.

Mr Cardoso obtained a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School where he was a Fellow.

Deputy governor nominees

Emem Usoro

On her part, Mrs Usoro has over two decades of banking experience spanning retail, commercial, corporate banking and public sector, covering all the regions in the country.

She was the Group General Manager and the Strategic Business Group (SBG) Head, in Abuja. She was also the Regional Head, Lagos Bank 2, and has won multiple awards at the annual UBA CEO Awards.

She is an alumna of Harvard Business School and Lagos Business School.

Muhammad Abdullahi-Dattijo

Mr Abdullahi-Dattijo is a seasoned development economist with over two decades of experience in policy formulation, public finance, and project implementation. He is the former Kaduna Central Senatorial candidate of the APC in the 2023 elections.

He has served in various high-level positions, including as a Policy Adviser at the Executive Office of the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in New York.

Philip Ikeazor

Mr Ikeazor has over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry. He has held various board positions notably as the CEO of Keystone Bank Limited, CEO of Ecobank Kenya Limited, Executive Director, Union Bank Nigeria, Director of Union Bank UK PLC, and Director of the Orient Bank Uganda.

Mr Ikeazor also served as a member of the governing board of ICRISAT –International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, India (a member of the World Bank-led Consultative Group on International Agric. Research).

He has a BSc. Economics from the University of Buckingham UK and is an Alumnus of Wharton-CEIBS-IESE Business School Global CEO Programme and attended executive programmes at Harvard Business School and Wharton School of Business.

Bala Bello

Mr Bello is an industry leader who hails from Taraba State. His professional career has spanned Banking, Capital Markets, and Pension Fund Management.

He is a well-respected public official and a renowned accountant. In April 2017, Mr Bello was appointed by the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari as the Executive Director of Corporate Services at the Nigerian Export-Import Bank