*I will Clean up CBN, obey regulations, Target 1trillion Dollar GDP in 8 yrs-Cardoso
By Andrew Oota
The Senate has confirmed the nomination of Mr Olayemi Cardoso as the substantive Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria .
The upper legislative chamber also confirmed Enem Usoro, Muhammad Abdullahi-Dattijo,Phillip Ikpeazor and Bala Bello as Deputy Governors of the apex bank.
The CBN Governor had told senators during screening that the task ahead of the apex bank is daunting but with good policies such as strict adherence to guidelines,policies and provisions of the law will cause a turn positive around of the Nigerian economy.
He promised the Senate that the CBN under his watch will work towards achieving a 1trillion Growth Domestic Production within eight years by quickly identifying the market economic indices such as moderation of inflation and the capacity to rebound from the current economic downturn.
He pointed out that there will be a clean up of the CBN and introduction of corporate governance that will usher in integrity of the bank,institutional autonomy,evidence based monetary policy , inflation and price stability amongst others .
According to Cardoso , Nigeria has over the years , indulged in spending more money than generating revenues, stressing that deficit financing has been responsible for inflation and that the CBN under his regime will do all within it’s ranks to ensure that deficit financing becomes a thing of the past.
According to him, ” The CBN under me will embrace a culture of compliance, we will not breach guidelines and we will have zero tolerance to compliance.
” We will work closely with the National Assembly to ensure there is a reset in the CBN, we will consult and ensure strict compliance to the provisions of the 2007 CBN Act”.
He equally assured Senate that the CBN under him will move away from secrecy that surrounds the activities of the institution, adding that the CBN will make use of realistic data, introduce open evidence policy and ensure transparency rules that will be understood by all players .
Expressing worry over the current foreign exchange rates ,Mr Cardoso assured that alongside his team they will work on a stable exchange rate and stabilize the naira as soon as possible .
“The results won’t be immediately ,but slowly ,the country achieve a stable economy , we must understand that this position we are going to hold is a position of trust and doing things the right way and we will do just that “.
He maintained that the CBN under him will not consider ignoring the invitation of the Senate and that he will reset the bank with the view to ensure that there is zero tolerance for disrespect for laws or guidelines .
He said that the Senate will ensure that people with the best qualifications and will contribute meaningfully to the Board of the Central Bank and are people who can resist what is not right .
Adding that the future of Nigeria is very important and at the CBN ,he will work towards actualizing the dream and beautiful intentions of the current administration.
He promised deal with issue of arbitrary bank charges and also build a good corporate governance that will be in the best interest of Nigeria.
