Victor EzejaSince the establishment of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 1958, the country has had not less than 12 governors (both in acting and substantive capacity) of the apex institution.
The bank which commenced operations on 1 July 1959 had the late Roy Pentelow Fenton, as the first foreign Governor, who served from 24 July 1958 to 24 July 1963.
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Among the past heads of the CBN, Abdulkadir Ahmed is notable for being the longest-serving Governor.
Here we present to you interesting highlights of the past CBN governors and their remarkable contributions in the nation’s economic journey.
Mallam Aliyu Mai Bornu – 25 July 1963 to 22 June 1967 (4 years)
Mallam Aliyu Mai-Bornu, who was born in February 1919 in Yola current day capital of Adamawa State, attended Yola Elementary and Middle Schools. He later proceeded to Kaduna College in 1938 and graduated in 1942 as an English language teacher.
After a teaching career that lasted from 1942 to 1953, Mai-Bornu got a scholarship to study Economics at Bristol University in London and graduated in 1957.
Upon his return to Nigeria, Mai-Bornu was appointed as an administrative officer with the Northern Nigeria Public Service (1957–1959) and served in the Public Service Commission and Ministry of Finance and Trade.
When the Central Bank of Nigeria began operations in 1959, he was seconded to the Central Bank of Nigeria as an assistant secretary. He rose through the ranks and in 1962, became the first Nigerian to be appointed deputy governor of the bank. Mai-Bornu was subsequently, appointed as the first indigenous CBN governor on 25 July 1963.
He retired from the CBN in 1967 and was appointed as the Director and General Manager of the Nigerian Tobacco Company. He served on the board of directors of the company until his death on 23 February 1970.
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Dr Clement Nyong Isong – 15 August 1967 to 22 September 1975 (8 years)
Chief Dr Clement Isong was a Nigerian banker, politician, and academic who got appointed as CBN governor in the middle of the Nigeria-Biafra Civil War and ended his during the military regime of General Yakubu Gowon.
He was also elected governor of Cross River State (1979–1983) in Nigeria’s Second Republic.
Born on 20 April 1920 in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, Dr Isong had his primary education at Qua Iboe Primary School and later attended Oron Training Institute. He also pursued a diploma in Education at the University College, Ibadan.
He proceeded to Iowa Wesleyan College, where he obtained Bachelor’s in Economics in 1954. He also studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Economics.
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Upon return to Nigeria, Isong worked as a lecturer at the University of Ibadan, before joining the CBN as secretary, later promoted to director of research. He was seconded to the International Monetary Fund as an adviser in the African Department.
Upon retirement from the CBN, Isong joined politics and was elected the first civilian Governor of Cross River State (from 1979 to 1983) on the platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN).
He was conferred with Nigeria’s national honour of Commander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFR) for his contribution to national development.
Isong died on 29 May 2000. His portrait features on the 1,000 Naira note which is the highest currency denomination in the country.
Adamu Ciroma – 24 September 1975 to 28 June 1977 (2 years)
Born on 20 November 1934 in Potiskum, Yobe State, Mallam Adamu Ciroma had his primary education in Maiduguri Borno State and secondary education at Barewa College in Zaria between 1944 and 1957. He also attended the University of Ibadan where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree in History.
He was the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria from 1975 to 1977.
He also served as a Minister in the Ministries of Industry, Agriculture, and Finance, and sat on the Board of several companies.
In politics, Ciroma was one of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) presidential aspirants who contested in the party’s presidential primary in 1979. He was also a founding member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He died on 5 July 2018 at the age of 83.
Olatunde Olabode Vincent – 28 June 1977 to 28 June 1982 ( 5 years)
Olatunde Olabode Vincent, born 16 May 1925 was a Nigerian economist and banker who was Governor of the CBN between 1977 and 1982.
Vincent served in the Armed Forces between 1942 and 1946 and later worked in the Financial Secretary’s Office, Lagos between 1946 and 1956. He later attended the Administrative Staff College in England in 1951 and also studied at the University of Manchester from 1953 to 1956. He was a part-time lecturer in Economics at the University of Ibadan from 1957 to 1960.
He also worked as Senior Assistant Secretary in the Nigerian Ministry of Finance (1959–1961) and then moved to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) as an Assistant general manager. At the CBN, Vincent rose to become a general manager from 1963 to 1966. He was also a director of the Nigerian Industrial Development Bank (1964–1966) and was also appointed as Vice-President at the African Development Bank, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (1966–1973).
He returned to the CBN in 1973 as an Adviser, becoming Deputy Governor in 1975 and Governor from 1977 to 1982.
Alhaji Abdulkadir Ahmed – 28 June 1982 to 30 September 1993 (11 years).
Abdulkadir Ahmed, who was born on 31 October 1940 in Jama’are, Bauchi State, attended Barewa College, Zaria in 1955. He joined the New Nigerian Development Company in January 1960 and was later sponsored for training in institutions in Nigeria and abroad. After studying at Nigeria College (University of Ife) in 1961, he proceeded to South West London College and graduated in 1972. Ahmed became Commissioner of Finance for Bauchi state (March 1976 – June 1977). Prior to that, he had served as area accountant of the NNDC and in 1974, he became the group’s financial controller. He was appointed a Deputy Governor at the Central Bank of Nigeria in 1977.
Alhaji Ahmed was a fellow of the Institute of Chartered and Certified Accountants (FCCA) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants (FAC).
He became the CBN governor on 28 June 1982 and left on 30 September 1993 being the longest-serving CBN governor.
Dr. Paul Agbai Ogwuma – 1 October 1993 to 29 May 1999
Born 24 April 1932 in Abayi, Abia State, Dr Paul Agbai Ogwuma, was the CBN governor from October 1993 to 1999 during the military regime of General Sani Abacha and his successor General Abdulsalami Abubakar.
After his basic education in Nigeria, Ogwuma went for further education at Bradford University in the United Kingdom from 1959 to 1962.
He had a distinguished career in banking and was a chartered accountant. While in London, he was an accountant at the Board of Trade (1966 – 1977) and also worked at the Industrial and Commercial Corporation (1967-1973).
Upon return to Nigeria Ogwuma first worked with the United Bank for Africa and later moved to the Union Bank of Nigeria where he retired as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in the late 1980s.
He was appointed as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in September 1993 and assumed office on 1 October 1993.
Joseph Oladele Sanusi – 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2004 (5 years)
Dr Joseph Oladele Sanusi was a Nigerian chartered accountant born on 24 September 1938 in Ogbagi-Akoko, Ondo State. He studied at South-West London College and Kingston College of Technology in England from 1962 to 1965.
He became a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) in 1969 and became a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Bankers in 1987.
After working as an accountant in England, Sanusi returned to Nigeria to work in the Department of Customs and Excise.
He joined the CBN in 1966 as a Deputy Manager and became a Departmental Director in 1977. He served as the Chief Executive of the Securities and Exchange Commission (1978–1979), Executive Director, Monetary and Banking Policy (1979–1984), and Deputy Governor (1988–1990).
Sanusi also served as managing director of United Bank for Africa and First Bank of Nigeria between 1990 and 1998 before his appointment as CBN governor in May 1999. He voluntarily retired in May 2004.
Prof. Chukwuma Soludo – 29 May 2004 to 29 May 2009 (5 years)
Chukwuma Soludo who is the current governor of Anambra State, was at the helm of affairs of the CBN from May 2004 to May 2009.
Born on 28 July 1960, Soludo holds a first-class degree in Economics from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. He bagged his other degrees including a Master’s and Ph.D. and then a professorship at UNN where he also worked as a lecturer.
With extensive training and experience, Professor Soludo has worked as a consultant for renowned institutions such as the World Bank, United Nations, European Union, and African Development Bank.
He also served as Chief economic adviser to President Olusegun Obasanjo before becoming the CBN governor.
As CBN governor, Soludo was renowned for his bank consolidation reforms. The restructuring was said to have positioned the banks to be attracting funds from local and foreign investors, which has increased their ability to lend to customers.
Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi – 3 June 2009 to 20 February 2014 (5 years)
Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was born 31 July 1961 in Kano, and a member of the Dabo dynasty.
He is a renowned economist and banking professional. He studied Economics at the Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, and Islamic Law at the International University of Africa.
He started his career in teaching and later moved to banking, and worked with Icon Limited, United Bank for Africa, and First Bank of Nigeria, where he rose to the rank of the Group Managing Director/CEO in 2009.
He was appointed CBN governor in June 2009 during the administration of Umaru Musa Yar’Adua amidst the global financial crisis.
He carried out a series of banking reforms until his suspension in 2014. His era saw a number of mergers and acquisitions of commercial banks which reduced the number of banks and made the existing ones stronger and more accountable to depositors. Some of the banking reforms he introduced include cashless policy and Islamic banking.
After the CBN job, Sanusi became the Emir of Kano and reigned for six years before being deposed by Governor Abdullahi Ganduje-led government in the state.
Sarah Omotunde Alade – 20 February 2014 to June 2014 (four months)
Sarah Omotunde, who was Deputy Governor of the CBN was appointed as Acting Governor when Sanusi was suspended. She held the position until the appointment of Godwin Emefiele in June 2014.
She served as deputy governor (Economic Policy), of CBN from 26 March 2007 to 22 March 2017.
Mrs Alade obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1976 from the University of Ife. She subsequently bagged Master’s degree from the University of Melbourne Australia in 1983 and a PhD in Management Science from the University of Ilorin in 1991.
Godwin Emefiele 3 June 2014 to 9 June 2023 (9 years)
Born on born 4 August 1961, Emefiele Nigerian politician, economist, and banker who hails from Agbor in Delta.
He obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Banking and Finance from the University of Nigeria Nsukka in 1984 and 1986 respectively.
He is also an alumnus of Executive Education at Stanford University, Harvard University (2004), and Wharton School of Business (2005). He was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration by UNN.
Earlier in his career, Emefiele had worked as a lecturer at UNN and the University of Port Harcourt.
Prior to moving to CBN, Emefiele worked in commercial banks for almost two decades. At Zenith Bank Plc, he rose to the position of chief executive officer and group managing director.
As the CBN governor, he oversaw a largely controversial central bank implementing various policies and initiatives to stabilize the Nigerian currency, boost foreign exchange reserves, support economic growth, enhance financial inclusion, promote agricultural development, and reduce inflation.
He also introduced a multiple exchange rate regime to manage the demand and supply of foreign currency in the country.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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