Words of welcome onboard have continued to pour in for Godwin Emefiele, the new governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), who assumed office yesterday.
The operators of microfinance banks (MfBs) in the country, who are pleased to have a new CBN governor, have a lot of expectations from him. Specifically, they want a friendly policy, easy access to development finance, better and improved environment for microfinance businesses to thrive.
“I wish him the best in pursuing development finance, particularly, in expanding the frontiers of finance to reach the excluded groups,” Godwin Ehigiamusoe, managing director/CEO, LAPO, says in an email response.
He expects and indeed is optimistic that Emefiele will tackle the challenge of lack of refinancing facility in the sub-sector by fast-tracking the process of getting the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund into operation.
Wale Adeleke, managing director of Corestep Microfinance Bank Limited, in an email, says: “We sincerely wish him well, as he works at stabilising our currency, increasing our foreign reserve, churning our development policies that would empower our micro, small and medium enterprises, rather than unnecessarily heating up the polity.”
According to him, “there seems to be a long list of expectations from stakeholders. Yes, Sanusi will be remembered for his banking reforms. We don’t expect a radical change of structures instituted by his predecessors, rather we expect to see very robust policies that would manage all stakeholders maturely to win their trust during his tenor.”
He hopes that the new governor will be empowerment friendly because it takes a governor that has the lowly and active poor in focus to be responsive to the microfinance industry, saying “you evolve policies to fit development of MfBs and not forcing straight-jacketed policies down our throat. This is our hope.”
Emefiele, who has been a banker with 26 years of experience, became the managing director of Zenith Bank in August 2010, after serving as deputy managing director from 2001.
He has a MBA degree from the University of Nigeria Nsukka and lectured at the University of Port Harcourt. Emefiele is an expert in forecasting, leveraging on his excellent acuity and calculated-risk-taking skills to crystallise any benefits from existing and future opportunities. Zenith Bank, which by balance sheet size and other positive financials, has shaped and is shaping certain critical aspects of developments in the sub-sector is in sheer entrepreneurial energy and verve a bank without equal and one that has taken after its lead-manager.
The several achievements of Zenith Bank since he took over stand him out as an accomplished banker and erudite manager of human and material resources. His capacity for leadership and eye for growth opportunities are evident in Zenith Bank’s performance and geometric progression on a number of parameters.
HOPE MOSES-ASHIKE
