JUST IN: Senate confirms Yuguda as CBN deputy governor

The senate on Wednesday confirmed the appointment of Lamido Yuguda as deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The confirmation followed the consideration of a report by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, which cleared the nominee after a brief screening.

Presenting the report, the committee chairman, Adetokunbo Abiru, told lawmakers that Yuguda met the requirements for the role in line with Section 8(1) of the CBN Act.

He said the nominee demonstrated strong expertise in financial and monetary matters during his screening and had no petitions against him.

According to Abiru, the committee found him suitable for the position and urged the Senate to approve his nomination.

The motion for his confirmation was seconded by Danjuma Goje, who stated, “President Bola Tinubu made the right choice on the appointment.”

Senate President Godswill Akpabio subsequently put the nomination to a voice vote, with lawmakers overwhelmingly endorsing it.

Following the approval, Akpabio commended the President for the appointment, describing Yuguda as “a square peg in a square hole.”

Earlier, the nominee was not subjected to detailed questioning, as lawmakers invoked the Senate’s “take a bow and go” tradition.

Although Abiru had initially proposed questioning Yuguda on monetary and fiscal policy, the process was halted after a motion by Osita Izunaso, which was seconded by Sarafadeen Alli.

Izunaso argued that the nominee was already well known to the Senate, having been screened multiple times for key roles, including Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission and positions within the CBN.

He said, “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 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 by President Tinubu,” he said.

Yuguda’s confirmation comes amid ongoing efforts to strengthen leadership at the apex bank and boost confidence in Nigeria’s monetary policy framework.