The Nigerian Senate on Wednesday confirmed Lamido Abubakar Yuguda as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), following a swift screening process in Abuja.
The confirmation took place during plenary after lawmakers considered a report by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, which cleared the nominee after a brief screening exercise.
The committee, chaired by Adetokunbo Abiru, said Yuguda met the requirements for the role and had no petitions against him.
Yuguda, a former Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), was earlier appointed as Deputy Governor of the CBN by President Bola Tinubu on March 11.
During the screening, Yuguda was not subjected to detailed questioning, as senators invoked their informal ‘take a bow and go’ tradition for nominees deemed familiar to the chamber.
The move followed a motion by Osita Izunaso, who called for the suspension of questioning after Abiru indicated interest in probing the nominee on monetary and fiscal policy issues. Izunaso argued that Yuguda had been previously screened multiple times for senior public roles.
The motion was seconded by Sarafadeen Alli.
Following the committee’s recommendation, the motion for Yuguda’s confirmation was moved by Danjuma Goje and seconded by fellow lawmakers before Senate President Godswill Akpabio put it to a voice vote, with the chamber overwhelmingly approving the nomination.
Akpabio subsequently described Yuguda as “a square peg in a square hole,” commending President Tinubu for what he called a fitting appointment.
Yuguda’s confirmation comes weeks after his appointment was announced by the presidency.
In recent months, Nigeria’s monetary authorities have undergone a series of leadership adjustments as policymakers seek to stabilise inflation, manage exchange rate volatility, and restore investor confidence in the financial system.
Yuguda brings decades of experience across Nigeria’s financial system and international institutions.
Yuguda began his career at the CBN in 1984 as a Senior Supervisor in the Foreign Operations Department. He later worked at the International Monetary Fund between 1997 and 2001 before returning to the apex bank, where he rose to become Director of the Reserve Management Department. He retired from the CBN in 2016.
