Until his suspension yesterday by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele ran the nation’s apex bank like his fiefdom.
Even though a few people who have been watching his trajectory at the CBN said they were not surprised that the axe finally fell on him, his removal by the president, according to this school of thought has finally brought to the end the proverbial years of the locusts in the government-owned bank under his watch.
If his sack was not unexpected, his arrest after the president had removed him from office by the Department of the State Services, DSS, was equally not, considering that the embattled CBN governor has been on the wanted list of the secret police for a long time.
While announcing his suspension on Friday night in a statement, Willie Bassey, Director of Information at the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, disclosed that his removal took immediate effect.
His suspension, Bassey said is not unconnected to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the economy’s financial sector.
Baasey said, “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, CFR, from office with immediate effect.
“This is a sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy.
“Mr Emefiele has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate) [Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi], who will act as the Central Bank Governor pending the conclusion of the investigation and the reforms.”
His sins
The embattled CBN governor has been on the wanted list of the DSS since last year over allegations of terrorism financing and economic sabotage.
While the DSS tried to arrest him at a point, they were restrained by a court order which directed that the former CBN governor be left alone because of insufficient evidence to nail him.
But those watching what is going on in the apex bank told the magazine that the ‘fear of former President Muhammadu Buhari’ was the actual reason why the DSS could not arrest him.
“You recall that even after the court ruling the DSS made attempts to arrest him, but they could not do that because of the array of soldiers that were guarding Emefiele. The soldiers were believed to have been dispatched directly from the Chief of Defence Staff, Lucky Irabor. The heavily armed soldiers prevented the DSS from arresting him,” a source said on Saturday.
Naira Design
The call for Emefiele to be arrested became more pronounced after the botched Naira Redesign policy which threw the economy into a cash crunch and serious economic crisis at the beginning of the year.
The policy caused a serious crisis for Nigerians who called for his immediate removal and prosecution for inflicting so much pain on Nigerians.
His enemies had described him as grossly incompetent apart from ruining the apex bank like a politician, following his quest to run for President in 2022.
He further found himself on the wrong side of many Nigerians after he went to court to stop those that criticized him from trying to run for the office while he was the CBN Governor.
He failed.
In the midst of the excruciating pains Nigerians faced under the failed Naira Swap policy, coming at the same time with the scarcity of petrol across the country, Tinubu, then the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, had said that the policies were targeted at him.
Tinubu said: “Even if they said there is no fuel, we will trek to vote. They have a lot of mischief. They could say there is no fuel. This one, too, they think they can cause a crisis by sabotaging the fuel supply.
“They are sabotaging fuel supply. Whether there is fuel or not, whether there is Okada (motorcycle) or not, whether there is tricycle or not, we will go and vote and we shall win. This is a superior revolution and when I tell you, you know what I mean. You know me, we are going there to win.
“They have been scheming to create a fuel crisis, but forget about it. Relax. I, Asiwaju, have told you that the issue of fuel supply will be permanently addressed.
“Let them increase the price of fuel, only them know where they have hoarded fuel. They hoarded money, they hoarded Naira; we will go and vote and we will win. Even if they change the ink on the Naira notes, whatever their plans, it will come to nought. We are going to win. Those in the PDP will lose.
“I am homeboy, I have come here, you will not be put to shame, we will take over the government from them, the traitors who wanted to contest with us. They have no experience.
“This is a revolution. This election is a revolution. They are plotting, but they will fail. They said fuel price will increase and reach N200 per litre. Go and relax. They don’t want this election to hold, they want to scuttle it.”
Tinubu later won the election and since he came to office on May 29, the call for the removal and prosecution of Emefiele has become more pronounced, particularly among members of his inner circle, who according to a source “are asking for Emefiele’s head”
In his inaugural speech as the President and Commander-in-Chief, Tinubu had hinted that he was jettisoning the Naira Redesign policy, a further pointer, according to many, that he’s not happy with Emefiele.
“Th embattled CBN governor knew that he will not escape prosecution from the new administration, and that’s why he has been doing everything to leave the country,” the source close to the president said.
Recall that rumour had spread last month that former President Buhari had approved a study leave for Emefiele, a development that drew the condemnation of not a few Nigerians who accused the suspended CBN Governor of trying to evade prosecution.
Meanwhile, President Tinubu has appointed Adebisi Shonubi as Acting CBN Governor.
