The governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Olayemi Cardoso, has criticized his predecessor, Godwin Emefiele, for implementing policies that have damaged the reputation of the nation’s premier bank in recent years.
During the 50th anniversary celebration of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Cardoso revealed this during his remarks on Friday.
He said that the CBN was beset by issues with corporate governance, a loss of institutional autonomy, a departure from its primary mission, and an unconventional use of monetary tools.
He also identified an inefficient and opaque foreign exchange market that hindered clear access and a foray into fiscal activities as significant challenges for the apex bank in the past few years.
“I am aware that events over the past few years have also put the CBN in a bad light. These issues can be attributed to various factors, such as corporate governance failures, diminished institutional autonomy of the Central Bank of Nigeria, a deviation from the core mandate of the Bank, unorthodox use of monetary tools, an inefficient and opaque foreign exchange market that hindered clear access, a foray into fiscal activities under the cover of development finance activities.
“There was also a lack of clarity in the relationship between fiscal and monetary policies, among other challenges.
“Hitherto, the CBN had strayed from its core mandates and was engaged in quasi-fiscal activities that pumped over N10tn into the economy through almost different initiatives in sectors ranging from agriculture, aviation, power, youth and many others. These distracted the Bank from achieving its objectives and took it into areas with limited expertise,” he said.
Cardoso, however, promised that the issues affecting the Bank would be tackled under his watch.
He said, “Under my leadership, the Central Bank of Nigeria will vigorously address these issues. We will tackle institutional deficiencies, restore corporate governance, strengthen regulations, and implement prudent policies. We assure investors and the business community that the economy will experience significant stability in the short-to-medium term as we recalibrate our policy toolkits and implement far-reaching measures.”
