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Nigeria's new finance minister, Shamsuddeen Usman

Posted by Reuters on 2007/07/26 | Views: 618 |

Nigeria's new finance minister, Shamsuddeen Usman


Shamsuddeen Usman, a deputy governor of Nigeria's central bank, was appointed on Thursday as finance minister of Africa's most populous country and biggest exporter of crude oil.

Shamsuddeen Usman, a deputy governor of Nigeria's central bank, was appointed on Thursday as finance minister of Africa's most populous country and biggest exporter of crude oil.

Following are key facts about the 57-year-old Usman.


WHAT HE HAS SAID ABOUT ECONOMIC POLICY

Usman voiced support for Nigeria's free-market reform programme, launched in 2003, during his screening by the Senate on July 17.

He said the government should limit its spending to help control inflation, disbursing windfall oil savings sparingly and for capital projects only.

"If you spend this kind of money, all you will do is create a cloud of inflation. You will not get much value out of that spending," Usman said in response to questions about why the government was not spending more of its windfall savings.

"We need to learn how to save money. Oil has been a curse and a blessing to Nigeria. In terms of economic management it has been more of a curse," he said.

He said the government should deregulate key sectors to spur private sector growth, citing telecoms as a model.

He said interest rates were too high and he believed economic growth and greater inflows into the banking sector would help bring interest rates down.


PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND

Usman joined the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 1999 as a deputy governor in charge of domestic monetary and banking policy.

During his time at the CBN, it raised the minimum capital base for banks twelvefold. This triggered a wave of mergers and acquisitions and the number of banks fell to 25 from 89. Analysts say the consolidation made the sector stronger, while banking stocks have boomed on the Lagos stock exchange.

Prior to joining the CBN, Usman held a variety of roles in the public and private sector.

He was a university lecturer in economics during the 1970s, an executive at several Nigerian banks during the 1980s and 1990s, and director-general of a government committee on privatisation from 1989 to 1991.

Usman attended the London School of Economics where he obtained his M.Sc. in Economics in 1977 and Ph.D in Economics in 1980.

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