President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated Dr. Olayemi Michael Cardoso to serve as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), subject to the approval of the Nigerian Senate.
Dr. Cardoso is a banker and chartered stockbroker with over 30 years of experience in private, public, and not-for-profit organisations. He started his banking career with Citibank and later became the chairman of the bank’s Nigerian operation. The nominee also served as commissioner of the Ministry of Planning and Budget in Lagos State between 1999 and 2005. In this position, he notably designed a 10-point economic agenda to catalyse reforms and manage the state’s expenditure patterns.
In the view of analysts at CardinalStone, the appointment of Dr. Cardoso could mean the following:
Greater monetary and fiscal policy handshake as the nominee’s experience in the fiscal space suggests that he may be more amenable to driving policies that could speed up the realisation of set FG targets.
Secondly, it means managerial solid and policy development competence: Dr Cardoso has a good track record in policy development and execution, given his pioneering role in the origination of the Lagos 10-point economic agenda. This experience fits the current context, with Nigeria embarking on its biggest policy reforms in decades.
Read also Tinubu names Cardoso new CBN Governor
But what does it means for markets?
CardinalStone analysts say the appointment ends uncertainties regarding the leadership at the apex bank. “We recall that the President hinted at a thorough ‘house cleaning’ at the CBN during his inauguration and eventually removed the then-governor in charge in June, leaving the bank under interim leadership for about three months,” the analysts said.
“Given the president’s pro-market disposition, the market will likely react positively to this news because of the expected policy alignment between the nominated CBN Governor and the president’s economic team.
“The appointment also suggests a strong resolve to achieve the long-term sustainability of the key monetary priorities of the current administration. These priorities include:
“- Clearing the existing FX backlog, which was recently estimated at $10 billion
“- Driving unification of exchange rates across the country
“- Normalising the application and use of monetary policy tools
“- Boosting financial inclusion and credit creation.”
