President Abdulla Yameen has switched out his initial candidate for the newly vacated position of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA)’s governor, Neeza Imad, with the former CEO of Capital Market Development Authority (CMDA), Ahmed Naseer.
The president has forwarded his proposal to appoint Ahmed Naseer as the central bank’s governor to the parliament.
Following President Yameen’s change of heart, Neeza Imad has resigned from her post as the assistant governor at MMA.
Speaking to Mihaaru about her decision to end her career of 31 years at MMA, Neeza stated that the government’s U-turn on the decision to appoint her as governor, which was announced last Wednesday, indicates the administration’s lack of trust in her.
“Thus I resigned, as it didn’t seem appropriate to remain in such a high position at MMA. To this day, I’ve worked in every government [over the past 31 years] in accordance with the laws and regulations,” said Neeza, who is the younger sister of Masud Imad, who was the spokesperson of the President’s Office during the regime of former President Mohamed Waheed, and Mahdi Imad, the incumbent chairman of the Transport Authority.
President Yameen’s newest pick for MMA’s governor post, Ahmed Naseer, had previously worked at the central bank. He had also served as a state minister at the Ministry of Finance and Treasury in the past administration of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). Currently, Naseer is a consultant at the finance ministry for a World Bank Group project.