Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has emerged The Guardian Economic Personality of 2017, in recognition of his contribution to stabilizing the Nigerian financial sector amid recession as well as the bank’s effort at development financing.
Presenting the award to Emefiele during a ceremony held at Eko Hotels and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos, weekend, President and Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Prof. Segun Ajibola, commended him and his team at the CBN for their efforts at managing the Nigeria’s financial sector and intervening in critical sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture.
In his acceptance remarks, Emefiele expressed appreciation to The Guardian for selecting him for the award and commended the outfit for its foresight and thoughtfulness at publishing the report on “Financing the Economy.”
Speaking on the economy, the CBN governor noted that the exposure of the Nigerian economy to global shocks was a reflection of the fact that Nigeria was unable to sufficiently produce what its people consume, hence the huge dependence on foreign goods.
He attributed the inability of the country to sufficiently produce what it consumed to heavy dependence on the oil sector to provide the foreign exchange needed to finance the country’s imports and the poor diversification of the economy and low factor productivity in key non-oil sector.
Emefiele said: “The CBN and the banks in Nigeria would continue to be catalysts to development, particularly as it concerned the vulnerable and needy in the society.
‘’The level of credit in the domestic economy channelled to productive private sector was critically below the levels required to place the Nigerian economy on the path of balanced, sustainable, and inclusive growths.”
Meanwhile, the CBN governor has approved the redeployment of Dr. Okwu Joseph Nnanna, from the Financial System Stability (FSS), Directorate to the Economic Policy Directorate.
A statement by Acting Director, Corporate Communications Department of the CBN, Isaac Okorafor, also disclosed that the governor equally approved the deployment of Mrs. Aishah Ahmad to the Financial System Stability (FSS) Directorate, while Edward Lemetek Adamu has been assigned the portfolio of Deputy Governor, Corporate Services.
The statement read: “Following the assumption of duty of the two new Deputy Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on March 28, 2018, the Governor, Godwin Emefiele, has approved the redeployment of Dr. Okwu Joseph Nnanna, from the Financial System Stability (FSS) Directorate to the Economic Policy Directorate.
“The Governor equally approved the deployment of Mrs. Aishah Ahmad to the Financial System Stability (FSS) Directorate, while Mr. Edward Lemetek Adamu has been assigned the portfolio of Deputy Governor, Corporate Services.
“Mr. Adebayo Adelabu, however, retains his portfolio as Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate. All the affected principal officers have since assumed duty in their new offices.”