Buhari reappoints CBN Governor Emefiele for second term

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

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

The letter for his tenure elongation was sent to the senate on Wednesday.

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.

He holds a B.Sc. degree and an MBA Degree in Finance, both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

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

However, Emefiele’s initiatives to retain high interest rates in a bid to protect the nation’s currency, ban importation of certain items that can be produced locally, boost output from farmers by imposing import restrictions on agricultural products and imposing capital controls to shore up the naira found favour with Buhari.

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.