A consultant with the World Bank, Urum Eke, on Thursday, rejected President Bola Tinubu’s appointment to serve as a member of the Central Bank of Nigeria Board of Directors.
Tinubu had, on February 13, forwarded the names of Eke and four others for confirmation as members of the board for the CBN.
However, during the confirmation, the former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Kalu, ( APC, Abia North ) told the Senate that Eke, who is his constituent, had called him on the phone to reject the offer, noting that it would conflict with his present job as a consultant with the World Bank.
This came to the fore during the Thursday plenary when the Senate began the process for the confirmation of the nominees.
The Senate, however, has confirmed the appointment of four other members of the Board of Directors of the CBN – Robert Agbede; Ado Yakubu Wanka; Professor Murtala Sabo Sagagi and Mrs. Muslimat Olanike Aliyu.
In this piece, PUNCH Online highlights 13 facts about Eke:
Born on November 20, 1964, Eke attended the Comprehensive Secondary School, Aba and Government College, Umuahia, the state capital, for his West African School Certificate and Higher School Certificate respectively.
He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Lagos in 1985.
Afterwards, Eke earned his Master in Business Administration in Projects Management Technology from the Federal University of Technology, Owerri in 2008.
The 59-year-old is an Alumnus of the prestigious Lagos Business School and the Wharton Business School, amongst others.
Eke is a recipient of Nigeria’s National Order of Merit and National Honour of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic.
He began his career in 1986 with Deloitte Haskins & Sells International as a senior auditor till 1991.
Eke further went on to serve as an Executive Director at Diamond Bank Plc for 19 years from 1992 – 2011.
Eke, a consummate financial services expert, is a former Group Managing Director at First Bank of Nigeria Holdings Plc.
He also served as a Non-Executive Director on the Boards of FBN Limited and FBN Merchant Bank Limited.
In 2017, he was appointed to the board of the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (Sovereign Wealth Fund) and served until 2021.
Eke is the Executive Chairman, Fairchild Group which comprises Fairchild Capital Ltd, Fairchild Base Investment Ltd, Fairchild Ventures Ltd, among others.
He is also the Chairman, Board of Directors of NSIA-LUTH Cancer Centre, a foremost cancer treatment centre in West Africa.
Eke has over 35 years of experience in financial services covering auditing, business assurance, consulting, amongst others.