Speculations about the next governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) appear to have ended. President Umaru Yar'Adua, impeccable sources in the presidency told LEADERSHIP, has zeroed in on one candidate for the office that will become vacant in the next two weeks: Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, currently group managing director/CEO of First Bank of Nigeria Plc.

Incumbent CBN governor Professor Chukwuma Soludo may have received hints of the imminent change in the leadership of the apex bank and is reportedly clearing his table.

The president is expected to forward Sanusi's name to the National Assembly for confirmation any moment from now. Until then, however, the final word on the appointment will not be known.

Sanusi himself could not be reached on the phone. And, when contacted, an executive director of First Bank who is known to be close to him said they were not aware of any plan to make him CBN governor. "For now, his headache is how to serve First Bank”.

Sanusi, a Kano prince, has enjoyed an eventful career in banking. Extremely intelligent and resourceful, he holds degrees in Economics from the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, as well as Sharia and Islamic Studies from the International University of Africa, Khartoum, Sudan.

He is known within the banking circle as a thorough-bred professional, upright and not associated with the greed that is related to many bankers.

Starting his career as an academic in his alma mater (ABU), Sanusi later moved into banking in 1985 as a manager at Icon Limited (Merchant Bankers). From there he joined the United Bank of Africa as a risk manager, and was consequently invited to the board of First Bank. He rose to become the executive director, risk and management control, before his appointment as the premier bank's CEO early this year. His emergence as First Bank's MD/CEO was historical: he is the first Northerner to occupy that position in the bank that has existed since 1894.

The announcement of Sanusi's selection as CBN governor is sure to gladden the hearts of many Nigerian bankers. He would be the 10th governor of the apex bank that recently celebrated its 50th anniversary.