• New CBN gov promises stability, growth and employment
• Bulkachuwa cleared also
The Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Wednesday vowed to ensure economic stability to create jobs and boost growth, as the Senate unanimously approved his appointment to replace Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Emefiele will take over in June from Sanusi, who was suspended last month by President Goodluck Jonathan on charges of “financial recklessness and misconduct”.
The Senate also unanimously confirmed Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa as the President of the Court of Appeal. Both of them were cleared after hours of grilling by the upper legislative chamber.
First to be confirmed was Bulkachuwa who was not subjected to intense scrutiny as was the case with Emefiele.
But upon entering the chamber, Senate President David Mark had told Emefiele not to expect to leave the chamber in a hurry, adding he would be subjected to special rounds of questioning because he would be leading a very important institution in the country.
Emefiele said in his first public comments since his nomination that he would make macroeconomic stability his watchword and the central bank would work to drive down inflation and interest rates.
According to AFP, he also vowed to maintain a strong exchange rate to build up healthy foreign reserves as well as formulate policies to address fears about unemployment, particularly among young people.
“We will ensure that during this period, if approved by the Senate, that whatever monetary policy decision we take will be those that will lead to improvement in the level of employment,” he said, warning the country was facing an ‘employment emergency’.”
Emefiele added: “Growing the economy of Nigeria is a very important assignment other than just a core mandate of ensuring that we have a stable environment.”
Emefiele also promised to use the development banking model to drive economic growth in the real sector of the economy to the benefit of all Nigerians.
