The last 24 months have been a roller-coaster ride for the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Critical matters such as the currency note redesign and, most notably, the institution’s leadership have put the institution in the spotlight.

Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria’s president, has nominated Olayemi Michael Cardoso as the next helmsman for the CBN following the dramatic exit of Godwin Emefiele, the suspended CBN governor.

It has been reported that, when it comes to finance, governance, and policy crafting, Cardoso is far from being a novice.

FIJ takes a look at Cardoso’s career path in the last three decades.

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Cardoso’s Background: A Finance Legacy

Olayemi Cardoso, Lagos born, started his educational journey at Corona School Ikoyi. He would later attend Saint Gregory’s College, also in Lagos, for his secondary education.

The Cardoso family has quite the finance legacy. His father, Bankole Cardoso, was a financial pioneer in the country. He became Nigeria’s first indigenous Accountant-General in 1963. He later took over Barclays Bank as the first indigenous Vice Chairman and Managing Director of that bank. The bank eventually evolved into the current Union Bank.

In 1980, Cardoso graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Managerial and Administrative Studies from Aston University. Afterwards, he earned a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2005.

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First Economic Commissioner of Lagos State

In 1999, when democracy was just being rekindled in Nigeria, Cardoso took centre stage as the pioneer commissioner for economic planning and budget in Lagos state under Bola Tinubu’s leadership.

Before then, no state in Nigeria had a ministry of economic planning. Among other things, he was the brain behind the blueprint for tax revenue generation in the Lagos State, a feat that Tinubu would later be credited for on his bid for the presidency in 2023.

Aside from tax revenue generation, Cardoso contributed to projects like the Security Trust Funds created to cater to security financing and the Medium Term Expenditure Framework for budget management and fiscal responsibility.

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Chairman of Lagos State’s Annual Economic Summit

Cardoso was the founding co-chairman of Ehingbeti, a Lagos state economic summit where the private and the public sector collaborate and deliberate on policies and economy-defining decisions for the following year.

The summit dates as far back as the year 2000. Since its inception, the state government has adopted and implemented about 95% of the recommendations made at the summit.

The name of the summit was inspired by the Lagos proverb ‘B’oju o t’Ehingbeti, oju o le t’Eko’, which translates to “Lagos is fine as long as Ehingbeti is fine’.

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Chairman CitiBank Board Nigeria

Cardoso’s career in Citibank started in London. In an interview with Aston University in 2022, he described his career with Citibank as “in and out”.

“I went in and out of Citibank about two or three times but Citi is good like that, it doesn’t hold it against you. The last time I went back as a non-executive and now I’ve been chairman of the bank for almost ten years,” he said in the interview.

Cardoso currently serves as a chairman of the bank in Nigeria. Under Cardoso, the bank witnessed a revenue growth of about 250% and an asset growth that closed on 300%.

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Cardoso’s private sector experience has also spanned organisations like Texaco and Chevron. He was an executive lead at the Harvard Kennedy School Alumni Association.

He also has international career footprints with global organisations like the World Bank, the Ford Foundation, UN Habitat, the World Health Organisation and the Swedish Development Foundation.

Cardoso’s selection as the new CBN chief is pending the approval of the Senate. He was nominated alongside Emem Nnana Usoro, Muhammad Sani Abdullahi Dattijo, Philip Ikeazor and Bala M. Bello who will serve as deputy governors once approved.