The Senate has confirmed the appointment of 12 members to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Monetary Policy Committee.
This confirmation follows the consideration of a report by the CBN’s Committee on Banking, Insurance, and Other Financial Institutions Committee during plenary on Thursday.
The confirmation of new MPC members comes just days before the apex bank’s first policy meeting under the new CBN governor. The summit has been scheduled for February 26-27, 2024.
The members are:
1. Olayemi Cardoso – Chairman
2. Muhammad Sani Abdullahi – Member
3. Bala M. Bello – Member
4. Emem Usoro – Member
5. Philip Ikeazor – Member
6. Lamido Yuguda — Member
7. Jafiya Lydia Shehu – Member
8. Murtala Sabo Sagagi – Member
9. Aloysius Uche Ordu – Member
10. Aku Pauline Odinkemelu – Member
11. Mustapha Akinwumi – Member
12. Bandele A.G. Amoo – Member
In November 2023, Cardoso, who was newly appointed CBN Governor by President Bola Tinubu in September 2023, had said that the MPC meeting has not been effective under his embattled predecessor, Godwin Emefiele.
“For quite some time, the MPC meeting has not been effective,” he said, adding that the CBN Act 2007 requires that the MPC meeting holds four times a year and the bank has satisfied the requirement for 2023.
“Our focus is on ensuring that these meetings are useful and effective,” he had stressed.
However, renowned economist and Managing Director of Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane, had said the MPC should meet beyond four times a year to review economic and financial conditions and stem galloping inflation.