Peterside, Onasanya, Chike-Obi, two others undergo security screening for next CBN governor
The Federal Government has begun security screening for the possible candidates that could replace the outgoing governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, THIS DAY reports..
The newspaper reports that the Managing Director/CEO of First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Mr. Stephen Olabisi Onasanya; serving Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga; immediate past Managing Director/CEO of Access Bank Plc, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; founder and pioneering Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Plc, Mr. Atedo Peterside; and current Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Mustafa Chike-Obi, have been discreetly screened by the Department of State Security Service (DSS) for the job.
Other contenders for the job as variously reported in the media include CBN Deputy Governor, Economic Policy, Dr. Sarah Alade; Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Dr. Kingsley Moghalu; and the immediate past Deputy Governor Operations, Mr. Tunde Lemo.
But the selection process, which would have commenced later in the year, may have started earlier in order to have a replacement by March 1.
Whoever succeeds Sanusi will be the 11th central bank governor in Nigeria, following in the footsteps of Roy Pentelow Fenton (1958 – 1963); Alhaji Aliyu Mai-Bornu (1963 – 1967); Dr. Clement Nyong Isong (1972 – 1975); Mallam Adamu Ciroma (1975 – 1977); Mr. Ola O. Vincent (1977 – 1982); Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed (1982 – 1993); Dr. Paul A. Ogwuma (1993 – 1999); Chief (Dr.) Joseph O. Sanusi (1999- 2004); Prof. Chukwuma C. Soludo (2004 – 2009); and Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi (2009 to date).
As specified in the CBN Act 2007, the central bank governor is in charge of the official bank of the Federal Government of Nigeria and provides economic advice to the federal government.
Apart from appending his signature to every denomination of Nigeria's currency, the governor among other duties, oversees the country's banking sector.
Alongside the Monetary Policy Committee of the CBN, the governor also determines the monetary policies of the country, which have an impact on the financial system and the macro-economy.