Buhari nominates Emefiele as CBN governor for second term

President Muhammadu Buhari has nominated Godwin Emefiele for a second term as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), TheCable understands.

Emefiele was first appointed in 2014 by former president Goodluck Jonathan and was retained when Buhari came to office in 2015.

TheCable understands that the letter for the tenure renewal was signed by Buhari on Wednesday and has now been sent to the senate.

By the CBN Act, the senate must confirm the nomination before it can take effect.

This is the first time since 1999, when Nigeria returned to democracy, that anyone would be nominated to serve two terms as CBN governor.
Before assuming the office of the CBN governor, the 57-year-old banker was the group managing director of Zenith Bank Plc.

Emefiele was at the helm of affairs when the country slipped into its worse recession in 29 years.

In 2015 when global oil prices began to decline, there had been calls for the devaluation of the naira.

However, Buhari opposed the idea.

As CBN governor, Emefiele introduced various interventions to ensure that the naira was kept stable.

These interventions included introducing a list of items for whose import foreign exchange was made unavailable.

That initial list of 41 items now contains 43 items.

He also introduced an investors and exporters window while directing banks to sell forex to customers over the counter for basic travel allowance (BTA), medical and education bills.

With help from the Bankers Committee, the apex bank also introduced financing initiatives for farmers and small and medium enterprises.

If his nomination is approved by the senate, Emefiele’s five-year tenure will end in 2024 after a new president is elected in 2023.