Lamido Yuguda
• Nominee demonstrated strong financial and monetary expertise during his screening.
The Senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Lamido Yuguda as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), describing him as a square peg in a square hole.
The confirmation followed the consideration of a report submitted by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions.
Presenting the report, Tokunbo Abiru, Chairman of the committee, Lagos East, told the Senate that Yuguda is suitable for the position, citing his extensive knowledge and work experience, in line with Section 8(1) of the CBN Act.
He said the nominee demonstrated strong financial and monetary expertise during his screening earlier in the day.
Abiru added that no petition was received against Yuguda’s nomination and urged the Senate to approve his appointment as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central) seconded the motion for confirmation, stating that “President Bola Tinubu made the right choice on the appointment,” prompting the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, to put the question to a voice vote, which was overwhelmingly supported by lawmakers.
In his remarks after the confirmation, Akpabio described Yuguda as a “square peg in a square hole” and thanked President Tinubu for what he called a very suitable nomination.
Earlier, before his confirmation, Yuguda, who was nominated by President Bola Tinubu last Wednesday, was accorded the privilege of “take a bow and go” during his screening by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions.
Given the importance of the office of Deputy Governor of the CBN, the committee chairman, Abiru, had initially proposed that members question Yuguda on monetary and fiscal policies.
However, a member of the committee, Osita Izunaso (Imo West), moved a motion for the nominee to be allowed to “take a bow and go.”
Izunaso, whose motion was seconded by Sarafadeen Alli (Oyo South), argued that the committee had screened Yuguda multiple times in recent years for key positions and found him qualified.
“Mr Chairman and Distinguished colleagues, in line with our tradition, the nominee before us for the position of Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria is well known to us, having screened him three different times in the past for some other very important positions like Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and member of the monetary control of the CBN.
“Personally, as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Capital Market, I had close interaction with Mr Yuguda as DG SEC and found him eminently suitable for the position of Deputy Governor of CBN nominated for by President Tinubu,” he said.
