Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Olayemi Cardoso has said that the introduction of Islamic Banks in Nigeria was spearheaded by an assistant pastor.
Cardoso disclosed this weekend at a reception organised to honour the Secretary-General, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Arbitration Centre, Dr Umar Oseni in Abuja.
According to him, it was now clear to Nigerians that the introduction of Islamic banks in Nigeria was not to Islamise the country but for small and medium-scale businesses.
Cardoso, represented by the CBN Director of Legal Services, Kofo Salam-Alada, said that more Shariah-compliant banks are being considered for approval due to the immense benefits it has brought to the citizens.
He noted that Islamic banks like Jaiz, Tajj, and Alternate Bank have stood the test of time since their establishment.
"Some years back, the Central Bank of Nigeria started a journey for the introduction of the Islamic Banking and Financing in Nigeria.
"It came when a young man was appointed governor of CBN. But most people never knew that the first person who spearheaded the journey was to be a pastor of the church.
"He was also a part-time pastor when this journey started. So it was never an attempt to Islamise Nigeria or Islamise financing in Nigeria. When the Prince (Emir Sanusi) came, he continued the journey", he stated.
Recall that the first Islamic Bank in Nigeria, Jaiz was established during the reign of Chukwuma Soludo as the apex bank governor.
Nigeria currently has four Islamic banks out of 43 Deposit Money Banks, according to CBN's recently updated list of approved banks in Nigeria.
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