Hours after the suspension from office of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Zenith Bank of Nigeria’s Group Managing Director and CEO,

Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has been nominated to replace him

Already, President Goodluck Jonathan has sent Emefiele’s name to the Senate for confirmation. His tenure will, however, start from June 4, when Sanusi’s six-year tenure will end. Deputy Governor Dr. Sarah Alade will meanwhile govern the apex bank in acting capacity pending Emefiele’s assumption of office.

Along with Emefiele, President also sent the name of Adelabu Adekoya, currently an Executive Director with First Bank of Nigeria, to the Senate for screening and approval as Deputy Governor to succeed Tunde Lemo who retired late last year.

A thoroughbred banker, Emefiele has been the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank since August 2010. He was before then the Deputy Managing Director of the bank, having been appointed into that position in 2001.

Part of his official CV reads: “Emefiele has been on the bank’s management team since inception and has held various management positions in the bank, including serving as the Bank’s Executive Director in charge of Corporate Banking, Treasury, Financial Control and Strategic Planning.

“Emefiele has over twenty-six (26) years banking experience and holds a B.Sc and an MBA in Finance both from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. Before commencing his banking career, he lectured Finance, Bank Management, and Insurance at the University of Nigeria and University of Port Harcourt respectively.

“He is an alumnus of Stanford University, Harvard and Wharton Graduate School of Business where he took courses in Negotiation, Service Excellence, Critical Thinking, Leading Change and Strategy.

“Under Emefiele’s leadership, Zenith Bank has strengthened its position as a leading financial institution in Africa, winning recognition and getting endorsement at home and abroad for giant strides in key performance areas like corporate governance, service delivery and deployment of cutting-edge ICT as well as impact in the bank’s numerous spheres of operations.

“In 2012, Emefiele’s visionary leadership saw Zenith Bank receiving acclaim from reputable institutions such as world finance, CFI and FTSE Global Markets that have named Zenith the Best in Corporate Governance, Best Commercial Bank in Africa, and Emerging Global Super brand respectively.”

•Photo shows Emefiele.