ABUJA – Senate yesterday, confirmed the nomination of Aisha Ahmad and Edward Adamu for appointment as deputy governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
The lawmakers also confi8rmed the nomination of Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, Dr. Aliyu Sanusi and Dr. Robert Asogwa for appointment as members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the CBN.
Recall that the MPC meeting where the members of the board usually take financial decisions that are critical to the nation’s economy, had been put on hold due to the inability of the MPC to form a quorum for a meeting, sequel to Senate non confirmation of the nominees.
The Senate however, rejected the nomination of Dr Asheikh Maiduguas as a member of the committee on the premise that his response to the independence required for each member of the MPC was unsatisfactory.
This followed the consideration of the reports of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions presented by Sen. Rafiu Adebayo (Kwara South).
On Dr. Sheikh, the committee was “concerned that a regular civil servant ladened with bureaucracy and red-tapism may not be independent in his judgement on each crucial decision of the MPC that affects directly the whole economy”.
The chairman explained that the three successful nominees were “very resourceful, diligent, articulate, competent and will add the needed value in the operations of the MPC”.
He therefore urged the Senate to accept and confirm the screened nominees as recommended by the committee.
Speaking during the plenary, Senate President Bukola Saraki thanked the committee and the lawmakers for ensuring the success of the confirmation process.
“We promised the country last week that within a week we would carry out this confirmation and we have done this, I thank you all for your cooperation,” he said.
The Senate President further congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari and others involved in the appointment process, as well as Mrs Ahmad for her nomination to such competitive role.
He also congratulated Mr Adamu, saying his elevation as CBN deputy governor would be a great encouragement to the staff of the bank and boost the morale within the institution.
According to Sen. Saraki, the two CBN deputy governors were appointed at a time, when the economy was a major issue as the nation seeks to continue with its economic growth and see the sustainability of the foreign exchange.
He then asked the new deputy governors to work with the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to move Nigeria and its economy in the right direction.
The Senate President also urged them to continue to work closely with the National Assembly to update the lawmakers on the progress made by the apex bank.
Similarly, he wished the MPC members a fruitful and successful tenure, saying their appointments would allow the CBN to continue to play its role in providing stability in the nation’s economy.
The Senate had, last week, resolved to make a concession to carry out the confirmation process for the two Deputy Governors of the Central Bank and other members of the Monetary Policy Committee, after earlier resolving not to consider all such nominees until Ibrahim Magu is removed as acting chairman of the anti-graft EFCC.
The resolution was sequel to a deliberation of a point of order raised by Rafiu Ibrahim (Kwara South) urging members of the Senate to confirm the nominees for the sake of the economy of the nation.
The Senate Leader, Ahmed Lawan, thereafter, moved that the executive provide a replacement for the rejected nominee and the resolution was adopted by the Senate.
