Nigeria Department of State Services (DSS) don confam say Godwin Emefiele, di suspended Governor of di Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) dey dia hand for some investigative reasons.
Inside statement wey tok-tok pesin for di service Peter Afunanya sign, dem confam di tori hours afta Nigeria President Bola suspend Emefiele.
Hours afta tori of Emefiele suspension become public, tori of im arrest by Nigeria secret police – di Department of State Security – bin begin spread.
BBC Pidgin bin try to reach di tok-tok pesin of di DSS, Peter Afunnanya, but im no answer or return e text message and calls dat time.
Earlier on, a statement from di office of di Secretary of di Government of di Federation, bin say dem direct di govnor of Nigeria highest bank Emefiele, to hand over di affairs of e office to di Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), wey go act as di Central Bank Governor wit immediate effect.
Folashodun Shonubi na im currently be CBN Operations Director.
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE FEDERATION
PRESS RELEASE
PRESIDENT TINUBU SUSPENDS EMEFIELE FROM OFFICE AS CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, CFR, from office with immediate effect.
— OSGF (@OfficialOSGF) June 9, 2023
Emefiele suspension and new naira note controversy
According to one statement from di office of di Secretary of the Government of the Federation, di suspension dey come sake of di ongoing investigation of im office and plan dem get to reform Nigeria financial sector.
Emefiele bin don dey in di eye of di storm for months now afta di ‘new naira note policy’ dem launch just before di general elections for February cause kasala and lead to economic hardship for citizens as a result of naira scarcity.
CBN bin roll out a policy wey introduce new naira notes of N1000, N500 and N200 in a bid to take out di old currency in those values out of circulation. But di plan no go smoothly.
In defence of di policy den, Emefiele bin say CBN dey face problem wit di management of di current series of banknotes wey dey circulation, especially di ones wey dey outside di banking system for Nigeria.
E say currency management na key legal function of di bank, wey dey for Section 2 (b) of di CBN Act 2007.
Emefiele say one of di challenges dem dey face na say members of di public dey hoard banknotes.
E say data don show say ova 80 percent of di naira note wey dey for circulation dey outside di vaults of commercial banks.
Anoda challenge na say dirty and unfit banknotes dey for circulation and dis one dey give CBN bad image and e dey increase risk of financial instability.
CBN also tok say di currency wey dey for circulation dey increase risk of fake notes.
“For recent years, di CBN don record significantly higher rates of counterfeit especially for di higher denomination of ₦500 and ₦1000 banknotes,” Emefiele tok.
E say according to global best practice, central banks suppose dey redesign, produce and circulate new currency every 5-8 years, but CBN neva redesign di naira for di past 20 years.
But govnors, politicians and many odas bin criticise di policy and timeframe of implementation dat time sotay di mata land court wen some govnors wey Kaduna state Govnor den, Nasir El-Rufai lead take am to Supreme Court.
Supreme Court bin later rule say make everybody maintain status quo.
Afta plenti silence and dragging leg, Former President Muhammadu Buhari later tok say make di old and new naira notes flow togeda.
Mr Emefiele bin don serve as governor of Nigeria Central Bank since June 2014.
Emefiele arrested
Emefiele bin dey face accuse say im dey run fraudulent activities, dey finance terrorism and also commit crime wey fit threaten national security. Accuse wey Emefiele don deny.
Despite dia initial attempt, Chief Judge of di Federal High Court, Justice J.T Tsoho, no gree grant di DSS dia request to arrest am unto say e no come wit den president, Muhammadu Buhari approval. And na sometin wey fit throw Nigeria economy into deep crisis.
