The CBN man replacing suspended Emefiele has an interesting profile

​Godwin Emefiele, governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, who for years poured out loans to the federal government above the allowed limit in violation of the law, oversaw a messy naira redesign that led to unprecedented suffering, and tried to run for president while still in office, was suspended from office Friday.

President Bola Tinubu removed Mr Emefiele to allow investigations into his tenure, according to a statement from the office of the secretary to the government of the federation.

“This is sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy,” the statement said.

Reports Mr Emefiele was arrested on Friday was not confirmed. The State Security Service did not respond to inquiries on the matter.

– Controversial tenure

The suspension came two weeks after President Tinubu took office with a promise to reform Nigeria’s monetary policy, an indication the new president was dissatisfied with the performance of Mr Emefiele, who has completed nine years as the second-longest serving CBN governor, beaten only by Abdulkadir Ahmed, who served four governments between June 1982 and September 1993.

“Monetary policy needs thorough housecleaning,” Mr Tinubu said.

Mr Emefiele oversaw some of the most controversial monetary policies in the history of the bank, drawing criticisms from experts, including his predecessor and former members of the bank’s monetary policy committee. Doyin Salami, once a member of the MPC, accused him of turning the bank to the federal government’s “piggy bank.”

While the law said the CBN should not provide loans to the federal government above 5% of the previous year’s actual revenue of the federal government, Mr Emefiele persistently pushed the limit. In eight years of the Buhari administration, he handed the government N23.7 trillion, 2900% above what he met. As the handouts stoked inflation, the central bank hiked interest rate frustrating many businesses.

Mr Emefiele’s tenure stood out for many controversial reasons. He banned cryptocurrency transactions in Nigerian banks, froze the accounts of citizens who protested against police brutality, and closed a news site that reported naira rates in the parallel market in a strange effort to fight the currency’s loss of value.

Two of his final acts as governor stood perhaps as the most condemned: Mr Emefiele’s attempt to run for president of Nigeria while still in office as the central bank governor, a move tolerated by President Muhammadu Buhari, and a deceptive currency redesign effort he led.

Months before the 2023 general elections and the end of the Buhari administration, he introduced the redesign of the naira, asking citizens to hand over old notes for new ones. Very little new notes were provided, and for months millions had no cash to buy food and water and pay fares. Then candidate Tinubu accused the bank of a deliberate attempt to frustrate his campaign.

– IT-focused career

Mr Emefiele’s removal appeared timed for the weekend to minimise any impact on the financial market.

The government’s statement said Mr Emefiele was directed to immediately hand over to the deputy governor (operations directorate), who will act as governor pending the conclusion of investigation and the reforms.

The new man is Folashodun Shonubi, appointed deputy governor in charge of operations in July 2018 to replaced Adebayo Adelabu. Before then, Mr Shonubi was managing director of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (NIBSS).

Born in 1962, Mr Shonubi attended the University of Lagos from 1978 to 1983 where obtained a bachelor in mechanical engineering. He later obtained a master’s in the same fieled in with bias in production engineering from the same University. In 1989, he obtained a master’s in business administration specializing in Finance.

After a brief stint in computing industry, he joined Citibank Nigeria Limited as head, treasury operations from 1990 to 1993, and later Agusto & Co. Ltd from 1993 to 1996.

He joined First City Monument Bank Limited as vice-president, operations & information technology in 1999. In 2003, he moved to Ecobank Nigeria Plc as an executive director, operations & information technology. He worked at Union Bank as an executive director, operations, technology and services between 2009 and 2012.

He became the managing director/CEO, Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc in May 2012. As the deputy governor, operation at the CBN, he represented the governor of on the board of Federal Inland Revenue Service.