President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has immediately suspended Mr. Godwin Emefiele, CFR, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, due to an ongoing investigation into his office and planned reforms in the financial sector. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation released a brief statement instructing Emefiele to hand over his responsibilities to Deputy Governor Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi.
Shonubi will act as the Central Bank Governor while the investigation and reforms are concluded. Although the President does not possess the authority to unilaterally dismiss a sitting governor, he has the power to suspend the governor pending legislative approval, requiring two-thirds of the Senate’s members to support the decision. The basis for this action lies in Section 11 (f) of the CBN Act of 2007.
Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, the current Deputy Governor of the Central Bank, possesses a strong professional background and academic achievements. Since October 2018, he has held the position of Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate. Shonubi earned double Masters Degrees in Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lagos.
With over 30 years of experience in banking, he has served in various key roles, including Managing Director/CEO of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System PLC from 2012 to 2018. Prior to this, Shonubi worked as Executive Director of Information Technology and Operations at Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and held positions at Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited, Union Homes, First City Monument Bank Limited, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, and Citibank Nigeria Limited. He has also contributed to the Bankers’ Committee, serving on sub-committees such as Ethics and Professionalism.