TheCable

The senate has screened two nominees for the position of deputy governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The nominees — Edward Adamu and Aisha Ahmad — were screened on Monday by the committee on banking, insurance and other financial institutions.

The committee also screened four other nominees as members of the monetary policy committee (MPC), including Asheikh Maidugu, Festus Adenikinju, Robert Asogwa and Aliyu Sanusi.

This comes a week after the upper legislative chamber resolved to screen the CBN nominees to enable the  (MPC) to hold its first meeting in 2018 which the CBN has fixed for April 3 and 4.

TheCable had reported how the committee was not able to meet in January because it could not form quorum as a result of the senate’s refusal to confirm nominees for the 12-man committee.

Among the functions of the MPC are the review of economic and financial conditions in the economy and determining appropriate stance of policy in the short to medium term.

At the screening on Monday, the nominees were asked various questions ranging from what they are bringing on the table if confirmed to their previous achievements.

While Ahmad was subjected to series of questions, Amadu’s screening session lasted just few minutes.

Speaking at the beginning of the excercise, Ita Enang, senior special assistant to the president on national assembly matters (senate), thanked the lawmakers for screening the nominees.

He requested that the committee also consider other nominees whose confirmation has been pending.

Rafiu Ibrahim, chairman of the committee, told him it is not beyond the committee’s power to decide on the screening of other nominees.

He added that the lawmakers’ decision to screen the CBN and MPC nominees were as a result of their appointments are not ordinary and sensitive.