Why CBN board nominee, Kalu Eke, rejected Tinubu’s appointment

Kalu Eke, one of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s five nominees for the Central Bank of Nigeria Board of Directors, has rejected the appointment.

Tinubu had earlier forwarded the names of Kalu-Eke and four others to the Senate for confirmation.

However, Eke did not attend the screening exercise conducted by the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions.

Senator Mikhail Abiru, representing Lagos East Senatorial District, while presenting the names of the other four nominees for confirmation by the Senate, said Kalu Eke failed to appear before the committee for screening.

“The nominee did not appear before the committee for screening. Therefore, the committee can’t recommend him for confirmation”, Abiru told the Senate presided over by the Deputy President, Senator Barau Jibrin, on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Senator Orji Kalu, who stated that the nominee was a member of his constituency, told his colleagues that he (Kalu Eke) called him to say he was engaged and consulting for some public and private bodies within and outside the country.

He said he felt accepting to serve on the board of the CBN would be “conflicting” with the current work he was involved with.

He said: “Mr President and Distinguished Colleagues, Mr Urum is my constituent, and he called to say there will be a conflict of interest in his nomination as CBN board director.

“That he wishes to decline, while he has already informed the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

According to reports, the Senate confirmed five nominees for the CBN Board.