Why I suspended Emefiele, orders CBN probe – Tinubu

thecornetadmin June 10, 2023

0 1 minute read

President Bola Tinubu has explained he suspended the Central Bank governor, Godwin Emefiele, to enable a probe he ordered into the activities of the apex bank and some reforms that need to be carried out therein.

Announcing Emefiele’s suspension, Willie Bassey, the director of information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, said President Tinubu directed the deputy governor (Operations Directorate) of the Bank, Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, to act in Emefiele’s stead.

Following the announcement, rumours became rife that the Department of State Services had arrested Emefiele. The DSS, had during the previous administration of president Muhammadu Buhari, attempted to arrest the CBN governor.

The secret police had accused him of terrorism financing and approached the court for an order of arrest at the time.

However, the court failed to acquiesced to the DSS demand. Equally, the former president was seen to have shielded Emefiele from arrest and prosecution.

TheCornet had reported the recent controversial policies undertaken by Emefiele including the naira redesign and restriction on cash withdrawal.

In the chronology of events of the time, the CBN policies are believed to have impacted the Nigerian fragile economy negatively, particularly the small and medium enterprises.

At the time, notable politicians within the ruling party equally saw the policies as a ploy to make then candidate Tinubu lose his election. Former governor Nasir El-Rufai had openly accused Emefiele of deliberately undermining the party because his aspiration to get the its presidential ticket failed.

El-rufai, joined by former Zamfara state governor Bello Matawalle and Kogi’s state Governor Yahaya Bello subsequently got the Supreme Court to rule that the Bank stay implementation of the newly redesigned naira notes to ease the hardship its scarcity had inflicted on Nigerians.

While on a campaign stop, Tinubu himself had implied the naira scarcity was contrived to generate public backlash against the ruling government and ultimately to turn the voters against him.