Amajor restructuring of the board of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is underway as part of plans to fully align the institutional perspective of the apex bank with the ongoing reforms.

The board of the CBN is made up of five executives and seven non-executive members. The five executive members are the Governor and four deputy governors.

President Bola Tinubu had appointed new CBN executive management on September 15, 2023. The Senate last week confirmed the appointment of Dr. Olayemi Cardoso as the 12th substantive Governor of CBN alongside four deputy governors- Mrs. Emem Usoro, Mr. Muhammad Dattijo, Mr. Philip Ikeazor, and Dr. Bala Bello.

Multiple sources in the know of the undercurrents yesterday said the composition of the board of the apex bank may soon change in order to give the apex bank a clean start and realign it with the reform mandate of the new CBN management.

“Fresh thinking and ideas is sorely needed in the management of our finances at this time,” a source said.

According to the source, the board of the apex bank could not be divested from its activities, thus the extension of the sweeping change of the executive management to the board.

A source pointed out that given the rationales for the appointment of the new executive management, the government would want people with the same philosophical views to compliment the new executives.

“With reconstitution of the board of governors, it’s only a matter of time for the main board which incidentally is headed by the CBN Governor, to be reconstituted,” another source said.

The organogram of the apex bank places the board of directors as the highest organ, followed by the office of the Governor and then, the four deputy governors.

The current non-executive board members and directors of the apex bank included Prof. Justitia Nnabuko, Adeola Adetunji, Prof. Mike Obadan and Prof. Ummu Jalingo, who were all appointed on July 07, 2018.

Others board members and directors included Dr. Abdu Abubakar, who was appointed on April 04, 2019 and Mr. Aliyu Ahmed, who was appointed on September 25, 2020. The Accountant General of the Federation, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Madein, became a board member on May 18, 2023, in line with extant rules.

Ahmed, who became a director and board member by virtue of his appointment as the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Finance on September 24, 2020; recently retired. In line with the provision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act, Ahmed will be replaced with the new Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance.

Nnabuko, a Professor of Marketing, is an academician with a wealth of experience and has served in various capacities at the University of Nigeria (UNN).

Adetunji, an Economist, has a long distinguished career in the private sector, including as Managing Director of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and Coca-Cola Sabco North & East Africa.

Obadan, a Professor of Economics, has served in several positions locally and internationally, including as Director-General, National Centre for Economic Management and Administration (NACEMA), Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Ibadan and Chairman, Economics Policy Analysis and Management Network (EPANET), Harare, Zimbabwe.

Jalingo bagged her Phd. in Economics from the Usman Danfodio University (UDU), Sokoto with specialisation in Aviation Economics. She was the Head of the Economics Department, Bayero University (BUK), Kano and currently, Director of the Centre for Social and Economic Research (CSER) at the Federal University, Dutse.

Abubakar, an expert in Construction Economics and Management, has over 30 years academic and working experience. He has held various positions in both the private and public sectors including as Executive Director, Banking Operation and Services at First Bank Plc, Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Education and Special Adviser to the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria on Private Sector and Parastatals. (The Nation)

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