Nigeria's new central bank governor nomination - Olayemi Cardoso

Highlights

• President Bola Tinubu has nominated the former head of Citibank in Nigeria Olayemi Cardoso to serve as the country’s new central bank governor, days before its next interest rate meeting.
• Cardoso would replace Godwin Emefiele who was suspended by Tinubu in June and later detained by the country’s state security agency. It is not clear whether Emefiele has resigned.
• Tinubu sent Cardoso’s nomination to the Senate for confirmation alongside four new deputy governors, presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale said.

Source: CNBC Africa

Our Takeaway

The central bank raised rates by a smaller-than-expected 25 basis points in July, contrary to analysts’ expectations, under acting Governor Folashondun Shonubi, one of Emefiele’s deputies. The bank is due to set rates again on September 26 and some analysts expect a more hawkish stance as inflationary pressures persist. Nigeria’s inflation rate has stayed above 20% all year and data from the Bureau of Statistics showed that headline inflation for August hit 25.80%. This is a 1.72% increase from July’s inflation figure, which was 24%, an 18-year high.