Nigeria: With His Presence At AACB Meeting, Buhari Becomes First President to Visit CBN Head Office

Visit CBN Head Office
By Kunle Aderinokun
The just-concluded meeting of Association of
African Central Bank Governors recorded a
milestone - It witnessed the presence of
President Muhammadu Buhari inside the head
office of the Central Bank of Nigeria in Abuja,
the first time a Nigerian President would visit the
apex bank's headquarters since the building was
inaugurated in 2002.
As the 39th Ordinary meeting of the Assembly of
Governors of the Association of African Central
Bank Governors (AACB) ended in Abuja, what
distinguished it from any other international
event that had been held by the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) was the presence of President
Muhammadu Buhari inside the apex bank's
headquarters to declare it open.
Apart from former President Olusegun Obasanjo
who inaugurated the multi-billion naira head
office of the CBN, successive Nigerian leaders
before Buhari, namely the late President Umaru
Musa Yar'Adua and former President Goodluck
Jonathan never stepped into the building,
situated in the heart of the Central Business
District, which is less than five minutes away
from the Presidential Villa in Asokoro District.
The CBN headquarters, an intelligent building, is
a complex reputed to be the most expensive and
sophisticated edifice in Abuja, the Federal
Capital Territory. The sprawling building is 94
metres high with outstanding glass and granite
façade.

The building, an architectural masterpiece,
consists of a central atrium with four office
wings, spacious auditorium seating 500 people,
three-storey car park and service block with five
generators as well as other ancillary buildings.
The total gross floor area is 99,500 m².
Considering the exceptional beauty of the
complex regarded as one of the most-prized
assets of the CBN, an institution that is strategic
to the government, many wonder why the former
presidents were not attracted to it.
Buhari's presence at the meeting of African
central bank governors at the CBN head office,
analysts believe, may be a show of confidence in
the apex bank led by its Governor, Godwin
Emefiele, particularly its efforts at ensuring
monetary stability in the economy. The visit has
also been described as a positive precedence.
Declaring the meeting open, Buhari commended
the CBN for spearheading economic stimulus
through its intervention programmes.
He described the theme of the symposium -
"Unwinding Unconventional Monetary Policies:
Implications for Monetary Policy and Financial
Stability in Africa" as apt, considering the
number of growing challenges that threatened
the growth and stability of the continent's
financial systems. Source, All African