The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has officially confirmed the resignation of Godwin Emefiele as the governor of the apex bank.
This comes three months after the suspension of the erstwhile central bank governor.
Emefiele was suspended on June 9, 2023, by President Bola Tinubu, who also ordered a probe into his tenure as CBN governor.
He was appointed by Goodluck Jonathan, the former President, in February 2014.
Immediately after his suspension, Emefiele was arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS) and has since remained in their custody — as the federal government piled up charges against him.
On September 17, reports of Emefiele’s resignation emerged but the federal government has remained quiet on the issue until now.
In a statement on Friday, Isa AbdulMumin, CBN’s director of corporate communications, confirmed his resignation while announcing that Olayemi Cardoso has assumed office as the new acting governor of the CBN.
“Dr. Olayemi Michael Cardoso, recently nominated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has on Friday, September 22, 2023, formally assumed duty, in an acting capacity, as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), pending his confirmation by the Senate,” the statement reads.
“This follows the resignation of Mr. Godwin Emefiele as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).”
“Similarly, the Deputy-Governors-Designate have also assumed duty, in acting capacities, sequel to the formal resignation of Mr. Folashodun Shonubi, Mrs. Aishah Ahmad, Mr. Edward Lametek Adamu, and Dr. Kingsley Obiora as Deputy Governors of the CBN.
“Dr. Cardoso and his colleagues subscribed to the relevant oaths of office at a brief ceremony held at the Bank’s Head Office in Abuja, on Friday, September 2023, and have since settled down to the task of administering monetary and financial sector policies of the Federal Government.
“An Economic and Development Policy Advisor, Financial Sector Leader, former Chairman Citi Nigeria and Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget in Lagos, Cardoso brings over three decades of managerial experience on board.
“He is an alumnus of Aston University, Birmingham, United Kingdom, where he studied managerial and administrative studies. He also holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School, United States of America,” the statement added.
Prior to Cardoso’s nomination on September 15, Tinubu appointed Fola Shonubi to act in the absence of Emefiele and also appointed Jim Obazee – former head of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria – as a special investigator to probe Emefiele’s tenure.
