Nigeria’s Central Bank Governor Won’t Renew Contract

Lamido Sanusi

Nigeria’s central bank Governor Lamido Sanusi said he won’t renew his contract when his five-year term expires next year.

Sanusi, who has led the bank of Africa’s biggest oil producer since June 2009, said it was never his intention to stay longer than one term. He was speaking in an interview with CNBC Africa in Abuja, the capital.

Appointed in the midst of a debt crisis that threatened the collapse of the nation’s banking system, Sanusi, 51, fired the chief executives of eight lenders within four months of taking office. An audit of banks at the time found evidence of mismanagement and reckless lending.

In 2011, he was named central bank governor of the year by London-based The Banker magazine.
Nigerian inflation probably won’t accelerate too far above 10 percent this year, Sanusi told CNBC. The inflation rate rose to 9.5 percent in February from 9 percent in the previous month.

“We don’t think we are going to see inflation above double digits this year,” he said.