Profiles of Usoro, Bello, 2 other CBN deputy governor nominees

President Bola Tinubu on Friday nominated four deputy governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to serve alongside Olayemi Cardoso, who was also nominated as the new governor of the apex bank.

The deputy governor nominees are Emem Nnana Usoro, Muhammad Sani Abdullahi Dattijo, Philip Ikeazor and Bala M. Bello.

EMEM NNANA USORO

Usoro has 20 years of banking experience that cuts across retail and commercial, customer service, as well as corporate banking. She currently occupies the executive director position at United Bank for Africa (UBA), which she joined in 2010 as a regional bank head.

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In 13 years, Usoro worked her way up to the leadership zenith in UBA. But prior to her lengthy career at the company, she spent six years at the defunct Bank PHB Plc, rising to the position of regional executive, Victoria Island Region (DGM) after leaving Platinum Bank as the relationship manager/team leader, commercial banking.

Usoro’s educational background is as colourful as her banking career, having bagged four management-related certificates from Harvard Business School, one at the University of Pretoria; a masters and a bachelor’s of science from the University of Uyo and Obafemi Awolowo University, respectively.

Usoro is expected to bring her wealth of experience to bear as a deputy governor of the CBN should her nomination be approved by the senate.

MUHAMMAD SANI ABDULLAHI DATTIJO

Dattijo is bringing a different kind of experience to the CBN having worked as a policy adviser at the executive office of Ban Ki-Moon, former United Nations secretary-general.

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He was an economic adviser to the Nigeria Governors’ Forum prior to the appointment. He also worked as the budget and planning commissioner in the Kaduna state government under Nasir el-Rufai, former governor of the state, before his appointment as chief of staff.

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Dattijo’s private sector career spanned the Balera Micro-Finance Bank, Athal Consulting, and Ecobank Nigeria, with his most recent job being the associate member, Dunning Africa Center, where he only spent three months before his appointment into CBN.

His career has been built on the back of an educational footprint that includes Ahmadu Bello University, where he secured his bachelor of science (BSc) and masters in economics, and international relations and affairs respectively. He also bagged public finance certificate in the London School of Economics and Political Science, amongst many others.

PHILIP IKEAZOR

Philip Ikeazor possesses 30 years of experience in the financial sector, having worked with various banks; serving as chief executive at Keystone Bank Limited in Nigeria and Ecobank Kenya.

Ikeazor also worked as executive director at Union Bank Nigeria and director of Union Bank UK Plc, before leaving the financial sector’s boardroom to join the governing board of the International Crop Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) in India.

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He bolstered his career with certificates from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, while also becoming a fellow at the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria and the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria.

BALA M. BELLO

Since starting his banking career in Guaranty Trust Bank (GTBank), Bello has gone on to occupy various positions in the private sector, where he has more than 20 years of experience.

Within the two decades, Bello has worked for the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Sigma Pensions Ltd, Marine Capital Limited and Apricot Investments Limited.

He graduated from Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, where he obtained a Bachelor of Science (BSc) degree in accounting and an MBA.

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His educational background extended to foreign shores, including Harvard Business School, where he secured a leadership programme certificate. Others are the Wharton Business School, Richard Ivey School of Business, and Portfolio Management Academy.