Adebayo Adelabu: From Perennial Guber Candidate to Likely Budget Minister

Adebayo Adelabu: From Perennial Guber Candidate to Likely Budget Minister

By Zeenat Sambo, Safina Abbati

After a long wait by Nigerians, the Senate last Thursday revealed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 28 ministerial nominees, before the elapsing of the constitution-mandated 60 days expected of Mr. President and Governors to form their cabinet, after assuming office.

In the ministerial list forwarded to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio by Tinubu, through his Chief of Staff, CoS, Femi Gbajabiamila, is Chief Adebayo Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of the Nigerian Central Bank.

The choice of Adelabu as a member of Tinubu’s incoming cabinet is surely apt, considering the Oyo technocrat’s immense wealth of knowledge in monetary finance, and banking activities.

Without equivocation, Tinubu’s overriding ambition to maintain Nigeria’s macroeconomic stability, increase non-oil revenue, reducd inflation, among others, has been referred to as an intelligent move by economists, for the fact that he has offered Adelabu a ministerial job. And truly, the ex-CBN Deputy Governor is one economic savvy with the requisite capacity to reposition Nigeria’s economy.

Chief Adelabu in 2000 joined First Atlantic Bank as its Financial Controller and Group Head of Risk Management and Controls. He was later promoted to Chief Inspector of the Bank in 2002, and Group Head of National Public Sector Business in 2003.

Adelabu further moved to Standard Chartered Bank and became its West African Regional Head of Finance and Strategy (Consumer Banking Business), with dual offices in Lagos and Accra, Ghana.

Blessed with unrivaled leadership skills, Adelabu, in 2009 became President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Nigeria’s largest bank, First Bank of Nigeria Plc, at the age of 39.

Highly revered in Nigeria’s financial sector, Chief Adelabu was appointed by former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan in February 2014 as Deputy Governor, Operations of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

He later resigned from the CBN to contest the 2019 Oyo State governorship election, as candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC. He however, was defeated by incumbent Governor Seyi Makinde of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

Chief Adelabu attended Ibadan Municipal Government Primary School, Agodi, from 1976 to 1982, and Lagelu Grammar School, Ibadan, from 1982 to 1987.

He bagged a First Class degree in Accounting from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, and also took up professional courses in various business schools, including Harvard, Stanford, Wharton, Columbia, Kelloggs, Euromoney, and the University of London.

He is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and a member of the Institute of Directors of Nigeria.

At the international firm of Chartered Accountants and Management Consultants, PriceWaterhouse (now PricewaterhouseCooper), he led and managed various audit and consultancy engagements for large banks and non-bank financial institutions within and outside Nigeria.

Adelabu further attended various local and International trainings, seminars and conferences including the University of London School of Management Development and the United States Institute of Internal Auditors in Orlando, Florida.

The former Apex Bank Deputy Governor is rated high in Oyo politics, and revered by many Nigerians as a distinguished economist that is best fit for the job of Tinubu’s Minister of State for Finance, Budget and National Planning. But if a separate Ministry is created for Budget and Planning as we used to have before, Adelabu will fancy his chances of heading the Ministry.