Nigeria’s Buhari Nominates Emefiele for Second Term as Governor

LAGOS (Capital Markets in Africa) – Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari nominated central bank Governor Godwin Emefiele for a second five-year term in office, making the 57-year-old former bank chief executive the first to have his term renewed since 1999.

Senate President Bukola Saraki read Buhari’s choice of Emefiele to lawmakers on Thursday. His appointment is subject to the Senate’s approval. His first five-year tenure ends this month and Buhari’s decision to give him a second has come as a surprise to the market.

The reaction of international investors will be “muted,” Mathias Althoff, a money manager at Tundra Fonder AB, said in an emailed response to Bloomberg.

”The likelihood of either the Buhari administration or the central bank under Emefiele doing anything other than what we’ve seen in the past four years is very low,” Althoff said. “The independence of the central bank is, rightfully, questioned. I don’t believe Emefiele is strong enough, nor has he indicated any will to, make any major changes to the current foreign-exchange regime.”

The central bank head was managing director of Zenith Bank Plc, Nigeria’s second-biggest lender by market value. Since being appointed, he raised the key interest rate to a record high to contain price growth and bolster the naira.

His decisions to implement currency controls by restricting importers of about 40 items from buying foreign exchange, and his defiance of calls to devalue the naira, may have earned him the Buhari’s support to stay on.