The Senate has cleared the candidates, bar one, nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari into the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
This was following the recommendations of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other Financial Institutions, headed by Rafiu Adebayo.
Those whose nominations were confirmed include Aisha Ahmad and Edward Adamu, deputy governors; and Adeola Adenikinju, Aliyu Sanusi and Robert Asogwa, members of the monetary policy committee (MPC).
The nomination of Asheikh Maigudu as a member of the MPC was, however rejected, the lawmakers calling on Buhari to forward another nominee for confirmation.
Prior to his nomination, Maidugu was a Director at the Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS). He had also worked as a senior lecturer in Department of Economics, University of Maiduguri between 1994 and 2007.
It is not clear yet why his nomination was rejected.
Speaking after the exercise, Bukola Saraki, Senate President, said the confirmation of the candidates would enable the CBN to continue to play its role of providing stability to the Nigerian economy.
“We promised the country last week that within a week we would carry out this confirmation and we have done this,” Saraki said.
“Let me congratulate the two nominees, particularly Mr. Edward Lamatek Adamu, whose upliftment to a Deputy Governor will be great encouragement to the staff of the CBN who will see one of their own in this position. I am sure it will boost the morale within the institution.
“The two new deputy governors of the CBN are coming at a time when the economy is a major issue. We have just come out of a recession and we need to continue with our economic growth and see the sustainability of the foreign exchange and other related challenges.
“We hope that the two new deputy governors will work with the Governor to move the country and our economy in the right direction.
“We hope, also, that you all will continue to work closely with the National Assembly to update us on the progress that is achieved by the Central Bank.
“I wish the members of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) a fruitful and successful tenure. For the MPC member that has been rejected and the issue of the board, when we come back next week we will revisit this issue.”
Earlier, Ahmed Lawan, Senate Majority Leader, had pointed out that the CBN board was not fully constituted because of the rejected nominee. He urged the Executive to expedite action in sending a replacement.
The nominees into the CBN MPC were announced in October, but the upper legislative chamber refused to confirm the candidates, in protest against the President’s refusal to withdraw Ibrahim Magu as EFCC Chairman, despite having been rejected twice by the lawmakers.
An MPC meeting scheduled for January could not hold since the committee could not form a quorum due to the non-confirmation of the nominees.