The newly appointed Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, yesterday formally assumed office at CBN headquarters in Abuja, ushering a new era in the bank.

With his new appointment, the former Zenith Bank Plc chief executive has assumed the mantle as the 11th CBN chief as well as its 10th indigenous governor.

Emefiele, who was cleared by the Senate in March, arrived at the CBN headquarters at 7.30 am yesterday to the enthusiastic welcome of the four deputy governors at the bank and expectant staff, led by Dr. Sarah Alade who has been acting as the central bank governor since February.

At a brief formal handover ceremony, the new CBN governor thanked Alade and other deputy governors as well as the media for gracing his assumption of office.

The bank, in a statement by Mr. Isaac Okoroafor, Assistant Director, Corporate Communications Department, said: “The new Governor arrived at the CBN headquarters at 7.30a.m. yesterday and was received by the four Deputy Governors at the bank and expectant staff, led by Dr. Sarah Alade, whose tenure as Acting Governor ended on Monday.

At the brief handing over ceremony, the new governor thanked Dr. Alade, the other Deputy Governors and the media for gracing his formal assumption of office.

The new Governor is expected to have a maiden world press conference tomorrow, where he will unveil his “agenda for the Central Bank of Nigeria and the people of Nigeria.”

Emefiele, the immediate-past Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc, brings along to his new role over 20 years of banking management experience.

He is a 1984 graduate of finance and has an MBA in finance (1986), both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.

He is also an alumnus of Executive Education at Stanford University, Harvard University (2004) and Wharton Graduate School of Business (2005).