Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Olayemi Cardoso has been appointed chairman of the board of the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC), extending an unbroken line of Nigerian leadership at the pan-African infrastructure financier since its establishment in 2007.

The appointment was disclosed by AFC President and Chief Executive Officer Samaila Zubairu on Wednesday on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, according to Nairametrics, which first reported the development. AFC had yet to issue a formal announcement at the time of reporting, and the initial report gave no date for when Cardoso would assume the role.

Cardoso succeeds Ireti Samuel-Ogbu, who took over as board chair in April 2025 following the tenure of Emeka Emuwa.

Six Previous Chairs Were Nigerian

Cardoso becomes the seventh person to chair the AFC board, following Charles Soludo, Sarah Alade, Joseph Nnanna, Kingsley Obiora, Emeka Emuwa and Samuel-Ogbu.

Soludo, who served as CBN governor from 2004 to 2009, was the corporation's founding board chairman. He was succeeded by Alade, a former CBN deputy governor, who held the position until 2015.

Nnanna, also a former CBN deputy governor, chaired the board from 2015 to 2020. Obiora, who was serving as the CBN's deputy for economic policy when he became chairman in April 2020, succeeded him.

Emuwa, a former chief executive of Union Bank of Nigeria, became chairman in February 2024. Samuel-Ogbu, a former Citi executive who led the bank's institutional businesses in Nigeria and Ghana, succeeded him in April 2025.

With his appointment, Cardoso becomes the second substantive CBN governor to chair the corporation, after Soludo. Three other former chairs — Alade, Nnanna and Obiora — previously served as CBN deputy governors. Taken together, the succession means every chair in the corporation's history has come from a central banking or banking background.

Nigeria's Stake in AFC

Nigeria's connection to the corporation extends beyond the nationality of its board chairs. AFC is headquartered in Lagos and counts the CBN among its institutional shareholders.

However, the succession pattern alone does not establish that the CBN's shareholding or AFC's headquarters determined the nationality of its chairs. The corporation's board appointment process and shareholder arrangements would be needed to explain why the position has consistently gone to Nigerians.

Established in 2007, AFC finances infrastructure and industrial projects across Africa, with investments spanning power, natural resources, heavy industry, transport and telecommunications. The corporation says it has invested more than $15 billion across 36 African countries.

Cardoso's appointment places the CBN governor at the head of the board that oversees the corporation's strategic direction and governance as it continues financing infrastructure projects across the continent. The chair's role is distinct from the corporation's executive management, which sits with Zubairu as president and chief executive.

Source: TechNext24