Senate begins confirmation of CBN’s MPC nominees

The Senate has mandated its Committee on Banking and Finance to begin the process of confirming four presidential nominees as members of the Monetary Policy Committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

This followed the adoption of the communication from President Muhammadu Buhari, requesting the Senate to confirm the nomination of the four appointees. The nominees are Prof. Adeola Adenikinju, Dr Aliyu Sanusi, Dr Robert Asogwa and Dr Asheikh Maidugu. The Senate would also consider Buhari’s request that Mrs Aisha Ahmad and Mr Edward Adamu be confirmed as CBN Deputy Governors.

Moving for the adoption of the request, the Senate Leader, Sen. Ahmed Lawan said that the process was in accordance with the provisions of Section 12 (1)(4) of the CBN Act 2007. The President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, gave the committee one week to consider the requests.

A report of the screening for the confirmation of new members of the central bank’s Monetary policy committee will be submitted to the Senate in plenary session next week, the Senate president said. The Senate had held up some of President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominees in a political spat which has left the central bank committee unable to form a quorum to set interest rates since the beginning of the year.