Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) of Nigerian banks will henceforth be subjected to periodic tests to ascertain their suitability to continue in such position.
The private BusinessDay newspaper reported Tuesday that a letter to that effect had been sent to all the CEO’s and head of Discount Houses by the apex Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
According to the letter, “the tenure of MD/CEOs of banks is subject to continuous fit and proper persons tests every two years and will be renewable, subject to satisfactory performance by respective CEOs in responding to issues such as examiners reports, external auditors’ letters/reports and customers complaints, among others.”
In 2010, the apex bank issued some new guidelines concerning the tenure of the banks’ CEOs to address some corporate governance issues in the industry.
It restricted them to a maximum tenure of 10 years, and stipulates that any person who has served as the CEO for the maximum tenure in a bank shall not qualify for appointment in his former bank or subsidiaries in any capacity, until after a period of three years after the expiration of his tenure as CEO.
