A former governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Jimi Agbaje on Friday said the position of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should be for an economist and not necessarily a banker.
Agbaje also justified the appointment of Dr. Olayemi Michael Cardoso as the new CBN governor, saying his experience as a former banker will be valuable.
Cardoso who was appointed by President Bola Tinubu on September 15 today resumed office in an acting capacity pending his confirmation by the Senate.
Some Nigerians have faulted Tinubu for not appointing a banker who is still active in the banking industry as a CBN governor, just as his predecessors, Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and Goodluck Jonathan did.
While Yar’Adua appointed Lamido Sanusi, the then Managing Director of First Bank as CBN governor, Jonathan replaced Sanusi with Godwin Emefiele who was then the Managing Director of Zenith Bank. Jonathan’s successor, Muhammadu Buhari retained Emefiele in office throughout his eight years in office as president.
ALSO READ: Just In: Cardoso Resumes As CBN Acting Governor
However, speaking in an interview with QUEST TIMES, Agbaje, a former presidential aspirant of the PDP said it is not compulsory that the president will pick a Bank MD as CBN Governor, adding that the job is primarily meant for economists and not bankers.
“ I think we’ve just gotten to having bankers as the governor of the Central Bank. Ideally, the position of the Governor of the Central Bank should be for an economist. Of course, it helps if you have an economist that has experience in other areas”.
“The job of the Central Bank, principally are two. One is monetary policy which addresses two major points- inflation and in our case, foreign exchange. So, it is not a job that has to be for the bankers. It is a job for economists”.
“Even if you say the CBN governor should be a banker, you must also understand that the present appointee was also a banker. He worked at Chase Bank, Citizens Bank, and Citibank. So, he even has that experience added to his economic background”.
“I believe the governor of the Central Bank is not necessarily for bankers. It is just that it has been something we have gotten used to. If you look at governors of Central Banks across the world, many of them have not even been bankers, they are economists first and foremost”.