President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the appointment of Lamido Abubakar Yuguda as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), bringing decades of experience in monetary policy, financial regulation and global economic institutions to the apex bank.
The appointment, announced on Wednesday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, is subject to confirmation by the Nigerian Senate.
According to Onanuga, the nomination is in line with Section 8(1) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.
Yuguda’s appointment follows the recent redeployment of the former Deputy Governor, Bala Bello, who was named Special Adviser to the President on Political Economy.
President Tinubu charged the new appointee to bring renewed dedication, professionalism and commitment to the role, particularly at a time when Nigeria’s monetary authorities are working to strengthen economic stability and restore investor confidence.
Yuguda is widely regarded as a seasoned financial technocrat with extensive experience spanning central banking, international finance and capital market regulation.
His most recent public office was as Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (Nigeria), where he served from 2020 to 2024, overseeing regulatory reforms and strengthening the oversight of Nigeria’s capital market.
An alumnus of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Yuguda graduated in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accountancy. He later obtained a Master’s degree in Money, Banking and Finance from the University of Birmingham in the United Kingdom in 1991.
He is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and also holds the globally recognised Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation.
Yuguda began his professional career in 1984 at the Central Bank of Nigeria as a Senior Supervisor in the Foreign Operations Department, marking the start of a long career within the country’s monetary authority.
He later gained international exposure as an economist in the Africa Department of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where he worked from 1997 to 2001 before returning to the CBN.
During his time at the apex bank, he held several strategic roles and eventually served as Director of the Reserve Management Department, a position he occupied for six years before retiring from the CBN in 2016.
With experience spanning reserve management, international finance, monetary operations and capital market regulation, analysts say Yuguda’s return to the apex bank could strengthen policy coordination between Nigeria’s financial markets and its monetary authorities.(The Atlantic Bell)
