Speculations became rife on Wednesday that President Muhammadu Buhari, on Wednesday may have sacked Godwin Emefiele from his job as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
Many news outlets reported that the President sacked Emefiele in the early hours of Wednesday, May 25.
Though relevant authorities have not confirmed the situation, the purported sack may not be unconnected with his ambition to succeed Buhari at the end of his tenure in 2023 as well as the ongoing naira crisis which saw the Nigerian currency losing 70% of its value under Emefiele’s watch.
Recall that Emefiele had been in the news over his reported controversial ambition to contest the presidency under the platform of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
The controversies came to the fore after three support groups bought APC’s N100m presidential nomination and expression of interest forms for the CBN governor.
Many had argued that Emefiele by joining partisan politics will violate the provisions of Section 9 of the Central Bank of Nigeria (Establishment) Act and Section 66 (1), 107 (f), 137 (1) (g) 142 (2), 182 and 187(2) of the 1999 Constitution.
This is not the first time that Emefiele would be reported to be sacked. In 2019, a post by Hope for Nigeria, a Facebook page notorious for the spread of misinformation, claimed that Buhari sacked Emefiele and had shortlisted two people from the president’s region as a replacement. The post was been shared over 2,500 times at the time.
However, checks by The New Diplomat stated that “The president does not have the power to sack the CBN governor without the approval of the national assembly.”
Section 11 of the CBN Act provides for cessation of appointment by a CBN Governor, Deputy Governor and Director of the CBN. Section 11 (2) ( c & f) of the Act stipulates that “the Governor, the Deputy Governor or Director shall cease to hold office in the Bank if he- [c] he is guilty of a serious misconduct in relation to his duties under this Act, or [f] is removed by the President; PROVIDED that the removal of the Governor shall be supported by a two-thirds majority of the Senate praying that he be so removed”
Recall that Buhari in a circular, dated May 11, 2022, with Ref. No.SGF/OP/l/S.3/Xll/173, had directed all serving ministers, heads of government agencies, departments, parastatals, ambassadors and other political appointees, including Emefiele, with political ambitions for the forthcoming 2023 general elections to resign from their positions.
