Market News

President Bola Tinubu approved the nomination of four new Deputy Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria pending confirmation by the Senate for a term of five years at the first instance.

They are expected to work closely with Yemi Cardoso, the newly appointed apex bank’s governor.

Here are the profiles of the new CBN deputy governors.

1. Mrs Emem Nnan Usoro

Usoro is an alumna of Harvard Business School and Lagos Business School. Her banking career spans over 20 years with experience in Operations, Credit and Marketing, Branch Management, Relationship Management, Corporate and Commercial Banking.

Emem was the Group General Manager and the Strategic Business Group (SBG) Head, in Abuja. She was also the Regional Head, Lagos Bank 2. She has won multiple awards at the annual UBA CEO Awards.

2. Mr Philip Ikeazor

Ikeazor has over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry.

He has a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Buckingham, the United Kingdom. He is also an alumnus of Wharton-CEIBS-IESE Business School Global CEO Programme and attended executive programmes at Harvard Business School and Wharton School of Business.

He has held various board positions notably as the CEO of Keystone Bank Limited, CEO of Ecobank Kenya Limited, Executive Director, Union Bank Nigeria, Director of Union Bank UK PLC, and Director of the Orient Bank Uganda. Philip also served as a member of the governing board of ICRISAT –International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, India (a member of the World Bank-led Consultative Group on International Agric. Research).

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Fellow Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

3. Dr Bala Bello

Bello who hails from Taraba State, is an industry leader, with productive years of career spanning Banking, Capital Markets, and Pension Fund Management:

He is a well-respected public official and a renowned accountant. In April 2017, Bello was appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari as the Executive Director of Corporate Services at the Nigerian Export-Import Bank.

Bello has an excellent performance record brimming with excellence. He is well known for surpassing his competition to achieve the greatest level of success in his field.

4. Muhammad Sani Abdullahi

Abdullahi is an international development expert who served as a policy adviser at the Executive Office of United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon in New York and also as Commissioner for Budget and Planning in Kaduna State.

He obtained his Master’s degree in Development Economics and Policy from the University of Manchester and obtained a second Master’s from Ahmadu Bello University where he studied International Affairs and Diplomacy. 

He obtained certificates including in Public Finance at the London School of Economics; Sustainable Development at Columbia University and Advanced Project Management at Oxford University.