The Central Bank (CBN) Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has bagged the 2013 Central Bank Governor Award for Sub-Saharan Africa.
The award is in recognition of Sanusi’s efforts to reduce inflation to a single digit.
It was conferred on him by Emerging Market Magazine, an international organisation, on the sidelines of the Annual Meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) taking place in Washington DC.
The CBN has successfully stabilised inflation rate in the country at 10 per cent.
The CBN governor, in his four years in office, received the award three times.
Commenting on the award, Sanusi said it represented the efforts of the about 6,000 staff of the apex bank.
He said “we have worked day and night through the banking crisis and now we are working toward restoring stability, financial inclusion and payment system transformation.
“It’s a great honour for me because this is going to be my last annual meeting. I thank all my colleagues for their support and the government for the confidence reposed in me.
“I have worked with two wonderful Finance Ministers, Dr Mansur Mukhtar and Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and I thank them for their support.
“The relations between the CBN and the finance ministry is one that is characterised by bulk of hostility, sometimes interrupted by gunfire, but we have been able to remain good friends and respect each other’s right to agree and disagree.’’
He said building stability in the system was not an easy task and applauded the Federal Government for the transformation reforms in various sectors of the economy.
The Ambassador of Nigeria to the U.S., Mr Adebowale Adefuye, said the award showed the confidence the international community has in the Nigerian community and Sanusi’s professionalism on the job.
“This is a plus for the Federal Government for putting professionals in different offices to manage our economy. It is an endorsement of the good efforts of the government for Nigeria’s CBN to be selected as the Central Bank of the Year for Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dr Sarah Alade, the CBN Deputy Governor on Economic Policy, said the award showed that Nigeria’s conscious efforts to stabilise the economy was being recognised.
“When the world recognises you among peers, it means that you are doing the right thing.
“The efforts at being able to have macro-economic stability has been recognised and that is an attestation to the hard, collective and collaborative work we do with Ministry of Finance and all the other agencies,’’ she said.
Mr Tunde Lemo, the CBN Deputy Governor, Operations, also said that taming inflation rate in Nigeria was a difficult task.
He, however, added that “we have been able to achieve it under the leadership of the current CBN Governor, Malam Sanusi.
“But all of these may not have been possible without the political and capital support from the President, as well as the support of the Ministry of finance. For me, this is what we are celebrating.
“We celebrate key public officers who work in harmony and ensure that the Nigerian economy achieve sustainable growth.
“I am optimistic that the moment Nigeria succeeds in its structural reforms, the economy will record double digit growth, year on year,’’ he stressed.
