[Full Profiles] Nominees For CBN Governor, Deputy Governors (Photos)

Here are the full profiles of the nominees for CBN Governor and Deputy Governors.

Mr Olayemi Michael Cardoso is a distinguished leader in the financial and development sectors with over 30 years’ experience in the private, public and not-for-profit organisations.

His private sector experience includes an illustrious career with Citibank, Chase and Citizens International Bank. In 1999 upon return to civilian democratic rule, Yemi was appointed the first commissioner/ cabinet member for economic planning and budget for Lagos state under then Governor Bola Tinubu. In this capacity, he wrote and monitored the implementation of the blueprint which catalysed economic development in the world’s sixth largest megacity.

As Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget for Lagos State, he championed the financial reform process which led to the state’s development of independent tax revenues. He also chaired the board of EFInA, a financial sector development organisation supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation.

He has served on the board of several leading companies including Texaco, MRS Oil and Chevron Oil Plc. He is a member of the Belgian-based Cities Alliance Think Tank which aims to shape and influence policy and decision making on urban development in Africa and has strong relationships with key international donor agencies.

Cardoso is a member of the Nigerian National Advisory Board on impact investing and serves on the advisory board of Lagos Business School. In 2018, he assumed the role of founding chairman of the board for the Africa Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), an organization committed to unlocking new capital for social impact across the continent.

In his capacity as a consultant and policy expert, Yemi has advised and collaborated with major international development organisations including the World Bank, Ford Foundation, UN Habitat, World Health Organization and the Swedish Development Foundation.

Mr Cardoso started his banking career with Citibank where he eventually rose to the position of Vice President leaving to co-found Citizens International Bank where he was an Executive Director for eight years.

He is the recipient of several awards including an honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration from Aston University, his alma mater, and the Global Distinguished Alumni award from Citi.

Yemi’s first degree is from the University of Aston, United Kingdom and his second degree from Harvard University, USA. In 2017, he was awarded an honorary doctorate degree in business administration by his alma mater, Aston University, in recognition of “his outstanding contributions to business and society”. He also obtained a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard Kennedy School where he was a Mason Fellow.

He is director on the board of several Companies and is currently The Managing Partner of FBC Associates Limited. He is the founding chairman and co-chair of the Ehingbeti Summit, the Lagos state economic summit.

Furthermore, Cardoso serves as a member of the board of trustees for DRASA Health Trust, a public organization established in honour of the late Dr Ameyo Adadevoh, and as the chairman of the board of directors for Rebuild Lagos Trust Fund (RLTF), a not-for-profit public-private partnership, was established to rebuild damaged infrastructure in Lagos following the EndSARS protests of 2020 in Lagos, Nigeria.

His father, Felix Bankole Cardoso, was the Nigeria’s first indigenous Accountant-General of the Federation in 1963.

EMEM NNANNA USORO

Her banking career spans over 20 years with experience in Operations, Credit and Marketing, retail, Branch Management, Relationship Management, Corporate and Commercial Banking covering all the regions of the Country.

Emem was the Group General Manager and the Strategic Business Group (SBG) Head, Abuja. She is currently the Regional Head, Lagos Bank 2.

She has won multiple awards at the annual UBA CEO Awards.

MUHAMMAD DATTIJO

Muhammad Sani Abdullahi Dattijo is a seasoned development economist with over two decades of experience in policy formulation, public finance, and project implementation.

Abdullahi was involved with the APC Kaduna transition committee in 2015. He was appointed Commissioner for Budget and National Planning in the first term of Governor Nasir El-Rufai (2015-2019). As the Commissioner for Budget and Planning he was a Member of the State Executive Council, and responsible for designing the fiscal strategy and coordinating the implementation and monitoring of the state budget.

He was later appointed Chief of Staff from 2019-2021.

Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, he was a Policy Adviser in the Executive Office of United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in New York and a member of the Secretary-General’s core team that designed the Sustainable Development Goals( SDGs).

He has also served in the past as an Economist and Deputy National Program Manager in Nigeria’s Presidency where he supported the design and coordination of development interventions across 36 States focusing on accelerating the country’s progress on the MDGs. He was subsequently appointed Economic Adviser of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum, a political and policy think tank for the country’s 36 elected Governors.

In 2018 he was one of two Nigerians – himself and Sahara Group co-founder, Tonye Cole – appointed to the World Bank Expert Advisory Council on Citizen Engagement.

Muhammad holds an MSc in Development Economics and Policy from the University of Manchester, a second Masters in International Affairs and Diplomacy from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria and has studied Public Finance at the London School of Economics, Sustainable Development with Columbia University in New York and Advanced Project Management at Oxford University in the United Kingdom. He was part of the 2017 cohort of Georgetown University’s Leadership Seminar.

He is a UK Chevening Scholar, member of the University of Oxford Business Alumni Network, Fellow of the Archbishop Tutu Leadership Institute and most recently a fellow of the Aspen Institute Africa Leadership program- ALIWA.

Currently, Muhammad is pursuing his doctoral research at the Henley Business School in Reading University, United Kingdom. His research focuses on Global Value Chains, Informality, and Development in Sub-Saharan Africa.

He was the APC Candidate for the Kaduna Central Senatorial seat in the 2023 election, but eventually lost.

Dattijo was born on 26th October 1979, married and a proud father to three very energetic boys.

PHILIP C IKEAZOR

Philip C. Ikeazor has over 30 years’ experience in the financial services industry. He has held various board positions notably as the CEO of Keystone Bank Limited, CEO of Ecobank Kenya Limited, Executive Director, Union Bank Nigeria, Director of Union Bank UK PLC, and Director of the Orient Bank Uganda. Philip also served as a member of the governing board of ICRISAT –International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, India (a member of the World Bank-led Consultative Group on International Agric. Research).

Philip has a BSc. Economics from the University of Buckingham UK. He is an Alumnus of Wharton-CEIBS-IESE Business School Global CEO Programme and attended executive programmes at Harvard Business School and Wharton School of Business.

He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Fellow Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria, and a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

BALA MOHAMMED KAKARA

Dr. Bala Mohammed Bello Kakara, an industry leader, is a native of Taraba State, Nigeria. He holds the Dan Buram-Gashaka Title. A well-respected public official and a renowned Accountant. Dr. Bala Mohammed Bello is currently the Executive Director of Corporate Services at the Nigerian Export-Import Bank appointed by His Excellency President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR). Dr. Bala Mohammed Bello has an excellent performance record brimming with excellence. He is well known for surpassing his competition to achieve the greatest level of success in his field. Dr. Bala Mohammed Bello has been described by many as a pacesetter, a role model not just a leader.

Dr. Bala Mohammed Bello is an honorary senior member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers Nigeria, a fellow of the Institute of Credit Administration, and a member of the Certified Pension Institute of Management. Additionally, he was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (Honoris Causa) in leadership and management from ESAE University Republic of Benin and a Doctor of Business Administration by The Commonwealth University in collaboration with London Graduate School.

Dr. Bala Mohammed Bello had the good fortune to receive his education in one of Nigeria’s top colleges, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, where he was exposed to the richness and diversity of the country. There he obtained both a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and an MBA.

He continued on to earn several more qualifications. In addition to the Executive development program at Wharton Business School Pennsylvania, United States of America. Also, successfully completed the high potential leadership program at Harvard Business School in Boston, United States of America. Additionally, Dr. Bala Mohammed Bello is recipient of a diploma in Operational Leadership from yet another prestigious university, Richard Ivey School of Business, Canada. Furthermore, he received a portfolio management certificate from the institute of Finance in New York.