A new chapter was opened on Tuesday in the annals of the Central Bank of Nigeria as Godwin Emefiele, former Group Managing Director, Chief Executive Officer, Zenith Bank Plc formally took office as the new governor of the apex bank.
“The governor resumed today and we are just done with the official handing over,” said central bank spokesman Isaac Okorafor after Emefiele took over from acting governor Sarah Alade for a five-year term.
At 52, Emefiele is of the same age as Sanusi and has more than 20 years’ experience in banking which culminated in his last position as managing director of Zenith Bank, Nigeria’s second biggest, where he built a well-capitalised institution.
His biggest challenge will be the naira, under pressure over the past year on concerns that reduced U.S. monetary stimulus will crimp fund inflows to emerging markets.
It is currently trading at around 162 to the dollar, outside the bank’s preferred 150-160/dollar range.
Indeed, Emefiele’s assumption of office according to analysts, comes with the immediate task of maintaining macro stability, especially as the government’s spending is expected to rise ahead of next year’s general election.
Analysts were of the opinion that the new governor will have no room to let up on monetary policy and will have to raise interest rates at some point over the next year.
Emefiele’s appointment follows the departure of governor Lamido Sanusi, a vocal critic of the government’s record on tackling corruption, who was suspended by President Goodluck Jonathan in February and whose removal has raised concerns about the bank’s independence.
As Emefiele fully takes charge, his actions and direction of the CBN will be closely watched by markets fearful of government interference at the bank, as Africa’s biggest economy, which imports around 80 percent of what it consumes, is struggling with a weaker currency, down three percent against the dollar and dwindling foreign reserves.
Political risk over February 2015 elections and a violent insurgency that has left thousands of people dead with properties running into billions of naira destroyed has remained major sore points in the country’s economic outlook.
Analysts expect Emefiele, who banking sources described as a conservative figure, to be more discreet than Sanusi, who was often criticised by government officials for going far beyond his remit with his criticisms of government spending.
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