Nigeria's CBN Governor, Emefiele, emerges President of African Central Banks

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been elected President of the Association of African Central Banks (AACB).

Mr. Emefiele, who was elected at the 39th Ordinary meeting of the Assembly of Governors of the AACB, will be president of the association for the year 2016 to 2017.

This is contained in a communiqué issued in Abuja on Friday., adding that he would succeed Lucas Nchama, Governor of the Banque des stats de l’Afrique Centrale (BEAC).

To work with Mr. Emefiele are the governor of the Bank of Ghana as chairman of the West African sub-region; governor of the Central Bank of Mauritania, chairman of the North African sub-region; and the governor of the Bank of Central African States, chairman of the central African sub-region.

Also elected were the governor of Banque de la Republique du Burundi as chairman of the East African sub-region and governor of the Central Bank of the Kingdom of Swaziland as chairman of the Southern African sub-region.

AACB announced that the theme of 2017 Symposium will be “Prospects for monetary integration in Africa: Lessons Learned from the Experience of Momentary and Financial Integration of Europe”.

The 2016 Symposium theme was “Unwinding Unconventional Monetary Policies: Implications for Monetary Policy and Financial Stability in Africa”.

The communiqué stated that discussions showed that the unwinding of unconventional monetary policy measures, could have a negative impact on African countries due to the interconnectedness of economies.

African countries, it stated, face challenges, especially the depreciation of the exchange rate and the decline in capital flows which could result from an exit from unconventional monetary policies in the developed countries.

“On the other hand, the unwinding of unconventional monetary policy could be an opportunity for African countries to develop appropriate measures to strengthen their resilience in the face of exogenous shocks.

“In this regard, the Assembly of Governors, stressed that it is necessary for African countries to diversify their economies and improve exports, while limiting imports.

“It also emphasised the urgent need for coordination between monetary and fiscal policy,” the communiqué stated.

It stated that the governors also examined the state of implementation of the African Monetary Cooperation Programme.

It also pointed out the inability of African states to sustainably meet some of the criteria for macroeconomic convergence.

According to the communique, this is because of the negative impact of the international environment, including the fall in prices of raw materials and commodities.

The communique urged countries to strengthen implementation of structural reforms, improve the business environment and promote intra-regional trade to strengthen their resilience in the face of external shocks.

It also stated that the governors reviewed the implementation of the work programme of the Community of African Banking Supervisors.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the session started on Monday with 27 member central banks and the African Union Commission (AUC) as part of the meetings. (NAN)