Jonathan Taps Calm and Steady Emefiele as CBN Governor

Jonathan Taps Calm and Steady Emefiele as CBN Governor

In a departure from the controversy-prone era that characterised Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s tenure as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday submitted the name of the Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, to the Senate to replace Sanusi.

Sanusi was suspended by the president Thursday morning following the upheaval that trailed his allegations and inconsistency over the non-remittance of oil revenue to the Federation Account by the Nigerian National Petroelum Corporation (NNPC).

With Emefiele’s nomination as Sanusi’s replacement, he will be bringing to the CBN a calm and steady hand, which has seen him successfully steer Zenith Bank to becoming the largest bank in Nigeria, to the central bank.
Commenting on his nomination, a market analyst who preferred not to be name, expressed confidence in the president’s appointment.

He said: “Following Sanusi’s controversy-strewn era, Emefiele with his even temperament, qualifications and unimpeachable track record as a sound banker, would be bringing stability to the table, which is what CBN needs.
“As a banker, he would also know how to walk the thin line between the implementation of monetary policies and maintaining financial system stability.”

Emefiele is a University of Nigeria, Nsukka-trained banker and financial strategist. He graduated as the best MBA student with specialisation in Finance from UNN after obtaining a Second Class Upper degree in Banking and Finance from the same university in 1984.


He went on to deepen his knowledge of macroeconomics at Oxford University, United Kingdom, having attended several executive training programmes and courses in negotiation, strategy, leadership, critical thinking, delivering value/profit at Harvard University, Stanford University and University of Pennsylvania (Wharton Business School), all in the U.S.

Emefiele, who joined Zenith Bank from inception, assumed the post of Managing Director/CEO of the bank on August 1, 2010. Prior to his appointment, he was Deputy Managing Director from 2001. He was also the bank’s Executive Director in charge of Corporate Banking, Treasury, Financial Control and Strategic Planning. He has over 23 years banking experience.