BREAKING: Abia nominee Urum Eke declines Tinubu’s appointment as CBN Director

Mr Urum Kalu Eke, one of the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) five Board of Directors members, has declined the appointment.

President Bola Tinubu had previously submitted the names of Kalu-Eke and four others to the Senate for approval.

However, Kalu Eke declined to participate in the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions’ vetting process.

Kalu Eke’s actions were made public on Thursday as the Senate discussed the committee’s findings, chaired by Senator Adetokumbo Ashiru (Lagos-East).

Ashiru, while submitting the names of the other four nominees for Senate approval, stated that Kalu Eke did not appear before the screening committee.

“The nominee did not appear before the committee for screening. As a result, the committee cannot recommend him for confirmation,” Abiru told the Senate, presided over by Deputy President Senator Barau Jibrin, on Thursday.

On Thursday, the Senate confirmed Mr. Robert Agbide, Mr. Ado Yakubu Wanka, Prof. Murtala Sabo Sagagi, and Mrs. Muslimat Olanike Aliyu.

As the hearings continued, Senator Orji Kalu, a former Governor of Abia State and member of the Abiru committee, emerged to provide additional justifications for why Kalu Eke declined the position.

Senator Kalu, who indicated that the nominee was a member of his district, told his colleagues that he (Kalu Eke) contacted to inform him that he was involved and consulting for some public and private bodies both within and outside of the country.

He stated that assuming a position on the CBN’s board would be “conflicting” with his current responsibilities.

Kalu Eke, 60, is the former Group Managing Director of FBN Holdings, having served until December 2021.

He had previously worked as an executive director for FirstBank.

Kalu Eke has also worked for Diamond Bank plc and Deloitte Haskins & Sells International.