- Nigerians have taken to social media to react to the suspension of CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele.
- CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele was suspended by President Bola Tinubu via a statement from the Office of Secretary General of the Federation.
- Godwin Emefiele has been the Governor of CBN since 2014 when he was appointed by Former President Goodluck Jonathan.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended the Central Bank Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, from office with immediate effect on Friday, June 9th, 2023.
The media aide of President Tinubu – Mr. Olusegun – made this announcement via his Twitter handle where he also reported that Mr Emefiele has been directed to hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), who would act as the Central Bank Governor.
The announcement led to widespread reactions on social media as netizens expressed their opinions on the decision.
Reactions on Social Media
Inibehe Effiong talked about how the monetary policies didn’t help the country. However, he indicated that President Tinubu cannot remove the CBN Governor without approval from the Senate.
He said: Ondo State missed out on the project. He said:
- “Godwin Emefiele corrupted the CBN and made nonsense of our exchange rates and forex market. The fiscal and monetary policies of the CBN under him did not help the country. However, Mr. Tinubu cannot remove him by virtue of Section 11 of the CBN Act without recourse to the Senate..”
Godwin Emefiele corrupted the CBN and made nonsense of our exchange rates and forex market. The fiscal and monetary policies of the CBN under him did not help the country.
However, Mr Tinubu cannot remove him by virtue of Section 11 of the CBN Act without recourse to the Senate.
— Inibehe Effiong (@InibeheEffiong) June 9, 2023
Meanwhile, FS Yusuf doesn’t believe the arrest of Godwin Emefiele is an assurance of good governance under President Tinubu. He said:
- “Wait! So you guys have forgotten how Buhari started with a ruthless approach and ended up a disaster, that y’all are ready singing hallelujah to Tinubu for arresting Emefiele, seeing Tinubu’s action as some assurance of good governance!?? Una dey shock me.”
Wait! So you guys have forgotten how Buhari started with a ruthless approach and ended up a disaster, that y’all are ready singing hallelujah to Tinubu for arresting Emefiele, seeing Tinubu’s action as some assurance of good governance!??😳🥺
Una dey shock me🤣🤣🤣
— FS Yusuf (@FS_Yusuf_) June 10, 2023
Morris Monye shared his thoughts on how the arrest of Godwin Emefiele united the supporters of APC and Labour Party. He said:
- “Lol Obidients and APC united in Emefiele’s removal and arrest. Emefiele united the country in his last act. Great guy!”
Lol Obidients and APC united in Emefiele’s removal and arrest.
Emefiele united the country in his last act. Great guy!
— Mo-Mo (@Morris_Monye) June 9, 2023
Mahdi Shehu shared that Godwin Emefiele shouldn’t be the only one to be arrested that he possibly had support from other government officials. He said:
- “FOR EMEFIELE’S SUSPENSION & ARREST TO MAKE SENSE: He did not act alone. He acted with support from PMB’s family, friends, cabals, & hangers-on. He played along with some governors, lawmakers, ministers & heads of security agencies. They must all be relieved & arrested.”
FOR EMEFIELE'S SUSPENSION & ARREST TO MAKE SENSE: He did not act alone. He acted with support from PMB's family, friends, cabals, & hangers-on. He played along with some governors, lawmakers, ministers & heads of security agencies. They must all be relieved & arrested pic.twitter.com/15NYyHgdMb
— Mahdi Shehu (@shehu_mahdi) June 10, 2023
Nefertiti indicated that Godwin Emefiele’s arrest is likely to be politically motivated due to the naira redesign saga. She said:
- “Godwin Emefiele is the scapegoat. But I’m here to tell u that nothing will happen to him. These are just initial gragra. BAT must be seen to be busy doing nothing. It’s a political vendetta, bcos Meffy insisted on Naira Redesign, he almost bought their APC Form. A STUBBORN GOAT”
Godwin Emefiele is the scapegoat. But I’m here to tell u that nothing will happen to him. These are just initial gragra. BAT must be seen to be busy doing nothing. It’s a political vendetta, bcos Meffy insisted on Naira Redesign, he almost bought their APC Form
A STUBBORN GOAT😂
— NEFERTITI (@firstladyship) June 10, 2023
Finally, Emma Ik Umeh believes Godwin Emefiele shouldn’t be the only government official to be arrested, and that the Minister of Aviation should also be arrested. He said:
- “I hope former ministers of Humanitarian Affairs and Aviation will also get the same treatment that Godwin Emefiele is getting. Hadi Sirika and Sadiya Farouk should be arrested”
I hope former ministers of Humanitarian Affairs and Aviation will also get the same treatment that Godwin Emefiele is getting
Hadi Sirika and Sadiya Farouk should be arrested
— Emma ik Umeh (Tcee )🇳🇬 (@emmaikumeh) June 10, 2023
Presidential aspirant and publisher of Sahara reporters Omoyele Sowore also commented on the arrest of Emefiele and suggested Emefiele was “purportedly” attempting to “flee Nigeria” when he was arrested. He also suggested former president Buhari and ex-Attorney General Malami should also be arrested.
Former @cenbank Governor Godwin @GodwinIEmefiele has finally landed in Abuja after he was arrested at his Lagos home at 2am in the morning/ He was flown on a PJ from Lagos accompanied by a team of DSS men. Emefiele was tracked after he drove around Lagos purportedly in an…
— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) June 10, 2023
A surprising tweet from Laolu Akande who was the media spokesperson of former vice president Osinbajo also supported the suspension of Emefiele over his “shenanigans” as governor of the central bank.
It was about time d CBN Governor faced suspension & investigation. All people of goodwill & those who value integrity, irrespective of political leanings would be thankful for this development. Emefiele was given a long rope, but he failed to redeem himself. His shenanigans…
— Laolu Akande (@akandeoj) June 10, 2023
The Back Story
Godwin Emefiele is a Nigerian economist, banker, and politician who served as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from 2014 to 2023.
- In 2014, Emefiele was appointed as the governor of the CBN by President Goodluck Jonathan. He was reappointed for a second term by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2019.
- Amongst many policies implemented during his tenure, Emefiele also introduced a multiple exchange rate regime to manage the demand and supply of foreign currency in the country.
- During his time, the exchange rate disparity between the black market and the official market was as high as N300. Inflation also rose to 22.22%.
Emefiele was suspended from office by President Bola Tinubu in 2023, following investigations into operations at the bank.