The suspension and subsequent arrest of the former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, has continued to elicit diverse reactions from a cross section of Nigerians.
Recall that Emefiele was suspended on Friday, June 9.
“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,” the director of information, office of the secretary to the government of the federation, Mr. Willie Bassey, said in a late night statement on Friday.
Following his suspension, the Department of State Services (DSS), picked him up on Saturday, June 10.
“The Department of State Services (DSS) hereby confirms that Mr. Godwin Emefiele, the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is now in its custody for some investigative reasons.
“The public, particularly the Media, is enjoined to apply utmost caution in the reportage and narratives concerning this,” spokesman for the secret police, Mr. Peter Afunanya, said in a statement.
Reacting to the development, professor of capital market at Nasarawa State University, UcheUwaleke, said Emefiele’s suspension was long foretold and would mark an end to a turbulent era.
“Godwin Emefiele will be remembered for implementing big ideas such as the Anchor Borrower Programme, the RT200, the eNaira and a raft of interventions which helped to stimulate the economy during periods of economic recession.
“To be fair, Emefiele, to a large extent, succeeded in ensuring financial sector stability going by the prudential ratios. His forex demand management policies, especially the 41 items not qualified for forex, promoted import substitution, conserved external reserves and ensured relative stability in exchange rates. It would be unfair to blame him for the current high inflation rate since most of the causative factors are beyond the control of the CBN.
“On the flip side, he will also be remembered for the currency redesign exercise which didn’t go down well with Nigerians and the CBN Ways and Means which grew astronomically during his tenure.
“His greatest misstep was his attempt to join the list of Presidential candidates. All said, I think he deserves some rest now,” he said.
Former president of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Olisa Agbakoba, also reacted saying Emefiele’s suspension was logical but described as “shocking” the arrest and detention of the erstwhile CBN governor by the DSS.
Agbakoba, in a short statement spokesman, Mr. Niyi Odunmorayo, said: “The suspension of the CBN governor from office is not a surprise as his tenure was way beyond monetary policy. But confirmation by the DSS that Emefiele is in its custody comes as a shock.
“The statutory role of DSS is internal security and I shudder to think what role DSS will play in this matter. The rule of law says it all – can the relevant agency responsible for Governor Emefiele step forward but this excludes the DSS unless this has security implications,” he said.
For the former economist and head, investor relations at the United Bank for Africa Plc, Mr. Abiola Rasaq, Emefiele’s travails are connected to allegations of wrong doings during his tenure.
“I think the suspension of the governor may not be unrelated to allegations against his office relating to some policy reforms and operations of the apex bank.
“Recall, some months ago, there was a dramatic event at the CBN bordering on investigation of the office of the governor, which took the intervention of the Presidency to douse,” he said.
He said the new administration would like to have a reset, especially as economic reform, including the reform of the foreign currency management, was a major item on the manifesto of the president.
“The leadership of the CBN over the past nine years does not believe in the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, contrary to the orientation of the Tinubu administra9tion which seeks further liberalisation of the market to block leakages and enhance the transparency of the foreign exchange market in a way that should stimulate Economic Performance Index (EPI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into the economy.
“I would expect that the acting CBN Governor would serve through the remaining months of the current tenure whilst we await the announcement of the next Governor, who expectedly would have a fine balance of market orientation, with some adaptation of regulatory controls that should keep markets at comfortable equilibrium,” Rasaq added.
However, legal practitioners under the umbrella of the United Lawyers for Rule of Law Defence, expressed concern about the alleged invasion of the Lagos residence of the embattled CBN governor and his arrest by the DSS.
Describing the development as “undemocratic”, leader of the group, Mr. Obe Albert, contended that arresting Emefiele despite a subsisting court order barring his arrest was against the norms of the rule of law.
For its part, the Niger Delta Rights Advocates (NDRA) alleged infractions on Emefiele’s rights in the manner the manner of his arrest.
“The group is constrained to draw public attention to an obvious infraction on the rights of Emefiele, who until Friday was the CBN Governor.
“The reports we have is that operatives of the DSS stormed the Lagos residence of Emefiele in the dead of the night, blindfolded him and forcefully took him away in a manner suggestive of abduction.
“As rights advocates, we should not live in a nation where all manner of gestapo style arrests will be made in the name of getting people to question them or account for perceived misdeeds. Mr. Emefiele could be invited for questioning at any time since no Nigerian is above the law.
“However, we are also concerned that there is a judgement by a competent court in suit no GAR/CV/41/2022 instituted by the Incorporated Trustees of the ‘Forum for accountability and good leadership’, wherein Justice M.A. Hassan barred the DSS, attorney general of the federation, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria, who are listed as 1st, 2nd and 5th defendants from arresting Emefiele,” he national coordinator of NDRA, Mr. Bright Ngolo, said in a statement.
