President Bola Tinubu Vs Emefiele: 4 Things You Should Know About CBN Governor's Suspension

President Bola Tinubu announced the suspension of Godwin Emefiele, the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on Friday, June 9, barely 2 weeks after he resumed office as the porter of the nation.

However, there are some major things you should know about the suspension of the former CBN Governor which included the Naira Redesign policy, his office under investigation, and the legality of his suspension.

Emefiele's suspension by the president was clearly celebrated by many Nigerians, both on social media and on the streets.

The major reason for the celebration of Emefiele's suspension was because of the failed naira redesign policy he introduced 2 months before the 2023 general election, which was clearly explained to be politically motivated, and his refusal to revert the policy even when the country's economy and people were in pain.

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Emefiele made Nigerians buy naira in Nigeria

Following the introduction of the naira redesign policy by Emefiele, the Nigerian currency became a scarce commodity the people were forced to pay higher amounts to get lower amounts at the black market.

Some Point of Sales (POS) Operators who spoke with legit.ng disclosed that they pay higher amounts in getting the money from traders that have it, thus they charged higher as well.

Yekini Shakirat who spoke with Legit.ng said she paid N25,000 to get N250,000 to run her business, she said, "I paid N25,000 to get N250,000".

Omobolanle, another POS operator said she has been paying N10,000 to get N100,000 to run her business.

Nigerians did not have access to their money

During the policy, many Nigerians did not have access to their money. Emefiele made it difficult that it was not only the hard currency that Nigerians could not have access to, even then, there was a limited transaction one can make per day.

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An elderly woman spoke about the circumstances with Legit.ng lamented that:

“I am tired of this. I have to start begging people here to help me save the N7000 I have made since morning in their accounts, I don’t know if I will get it back to go to market on Monday because they say the ATMs are not dispensing.”

Emefiele's office is under investigation

Following the suspension, there was an unconfirmed report that the former CBN governor was arrested by the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

According to The Punch, a source within the DSS disclosed that:

“Yes, expect that (his arrest) to happen. He would have been arrested before but the administration of former President Buhari protected him. He has many questions to answer.

“As a result of this, he won’t be allowed to either travel out or sneak out of the country. So, we are looking for him.”

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Emefiele's suspension may not be legal

According to section 11 of the CBN Act 2007, the president is empowered to terminate the appointment of the CBN governor but must be supported by 2/3 of the lawmakers.

The section reads in part:

“The CBN governor can be removed by the President provided that the removal of the governor shall be supported by two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that he be removed.”

Source: Legit.ng