Right balance, key in appointing my successor – Sanusi

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi says having the right balance in appointing his successor was more important than whether his successor was appointed from outside or within the institution.

Bloomberg quoted Sanusi to have said this in an interview in Oslo, where he is attending a Norway-Africa business conference.

The CBN governor also noted that ensuring that whoever succeeds him and the four deputies also to be appointed would be able to manage the various mandates of the central bank was key.

The CBN governor said he informed President Goodluck Jonathan in 2011, two years after his appointment that he would leave at the end of his term. He said he plans to notify Jonathan in writing about three months before he leaves and the president will then be free to announce his successor.

Sanusi, 52, helped to clean up the banking industry during a debt crisis in 2009 and has left interest rates at a record high for almost two years to bolster the currency and keep inflation under control.

The outsiders are the Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mustafa Chike-Obi; the Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Access Bank Plc, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede; and Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, First Bank of Nigeria Limited (FBN), Bisi Onasanya.

The second group is made up of insiders who share similar views with Sanusi on monetary policies and are expected to ensure continuity. They are the three deputy governors of the CBN: Kingsley Moghalu, Tunde Lemo and Sarah Alade.

Whoever succeeds Sanusi next year will be the 11th governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.