Senate Rejects CBN Board Nominee over Integrity Test Failure, Confirms 4

By Dipo Olowookere

One of the five nominees for a position in the board of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has been rejected by the Senate.

Mr Abdu Abubakar, nominated by President Muhammadu Buhari as one of the non-executive directors of the CBN board membership, was rejected by the lawmakers because he “failed the (Senate) committee’s integrity test.”

According to the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions, which screened the nominees, Mr Abubakar could not honestly answer questions he was asked.

Chairman of the committee, Mr Rafiu Adebayo, while submitting his report to his colleagues, noted that, “One of the nominees, Dr Abdu Abubakar, failed the integrity test designed by the committee to assess him; his response to questions lacked transparancy and not worthy to appointed into a regulatory agency by the CBN.”

However, he said the other four nominees; Adeola Adetunji, Justitia Odinakachukwu, Mike Obadan and Ummu Jalingo passed the screening and were declared fit for the position.

Mr Adebayo said, “The nominees have vast knowledge of the CBN act. They have been cleared by CCB and relevant security agency.”