In a startling turn of events, President Bola Tinubu has taken decisive action by suspending Godwin Emefiele, the Central Bank Governor, from his esteemed position, effective immediately.
This astonishing development was officially disclosed on Friday night through a press release issued by Willie Bassey, the Director of Information at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The suspension of the CBN Governor comes as a direct consequence of the ongoing investigation into his office and the upcoming reforms in the financial sector of the nation’s economy, as per the aforementioned statement.
Under these extraordinary circumstances, Mr. Emefiele has been explicitly instructed to promptly transfer the responsibilities of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who will temporarily assume the role of the Central Bank Governor until the investigation and reforms reach their conclusive resolutions.
It is worth noting that the recently suspended CBN governor had assumed this significant position in 2014, following the controversial suspension of Lamido Sanusi by President Goodluck Jonathan, mere months prior to the expiration of his tenure.
Prior to his appointment as the Central Bank Governor, Mr. Emefiele held the esteemed position of Group Managing Director at Zenith Bank Plc.
Since assuming office in 2014, the recently suspended CBN chief has encountered widespread criticism from Nigerians regarding his management of the economy, his political affiliations, and the contentious policies implemented by the apex bank.
Under his leadership, the Nigerian currency, the naira, has witnessed a significant decline, currently trading at over N720 per dollar in the parallel market, while standing at N470 per dollar in the spot market as of Thursday. These rates represent the lowest point the naira has ever reached on the Investors and Exporters (I&E) window.
Furthermore, the central bank, under Mr. Emefiele’s guidance, has grappled with the formidable challenge of curbing the nation’s inflation rate, which stood at a staggering 22% in May, according to the statistics bureau of the country
