‘Good Riddance ‘- Nigerians React To Suspension, Arrest Of CBN Gov Emefiele

The suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, and his subsequent arrest by the Department of State Services (DSS) generated reactions from many Nigerians on Friday.

President Bola Tinubu on Friday evening suspended Emefiele as CBN governor citing an ongoing investigation of his office.

The development was in line with his administration’s plan to reform the financial sector of the economy.

Less than an hour after his suspension, over 700,000 interactions have been generated on Twitter while Facebook shows over 350,000 interactions as of press time, according to CrowdTangle, a Facebook Open-source intelligence (OSINT) tool.

Some Nigerians on Twitter expressed satisfaction over his suspension and recounted his highhandedness before, during, and after the 2023 general elections which impaired the economic system of the country.

While many described the decision of the president as the best he has made since his inauguration, others say his arrest was long overdue.

Emefiele was directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate), Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi.

Consequently, Bayo Onanuga, a spokesperson of the Tinubu presidential campaign, described Emefiele’s suspension as “Good riddance to worst CBN governor in history” while former senator Shehu Sani supported his tweet, saying “Good riddance to worst CBN governor in history”.

Below are some of the reactions of Nigerians:

@KatorTarkaa said: “The suspension of Godwin Emefiele, the CBN Governor, is long overdue. His disastrous policy of Naira redesign crippled many businesses & caused Nigerians untold hardship. I hope he is properly investigated & brought to justice & that the next time we hear from him, it’s from”.

@Akintollgate said, “Squeeze CBN Governor Meffy’s neck and make sure he vomits every schilling, kobo & cowrie shell thru his ass!
That man single handedly put a lot of Nigerian families, retirees and hardworking youth in the poverty class”.

@Mrfestusogun said, “Tinubu lacks the power to unilaterally remove Emefiele. However, a Federal High Court has held that while President cannot remove the CBN Governor, he can exercise some disciplinary control over him which includes suspension. On suspension, however, Emefiele is entitled to pay”.

@OgbeniDapo said, “Some people supported the foolish implementation of the Naira redesign policy even after protests and vandalism happened in Oyo, Delta, Ogun and other states because they believed it would stop Bola Ahmed Tinubu from becoming President. These are the hypocrites and fake patriots who call some of us enemies of Nigeria and tried to cancel us repeatedly for not backing their messiah“.

@IU_Wakili said, “I heard a lot good news since PBAT became President but the best of them all is suspension of the CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele”.

@DanielRegha said, “Tinubu suspending Godwin Emefiele as the CBN governor was expected, the naira redesign policy didn’t favor him; But Tinubu also shares in the blame cos if he didn’t help Buhari become the president, Emefiele might not have been CBN governor & make a mess. Medicine after death“.

@drpenking said, “Emefiele has been sacked as CBN Governor but his legacy lives on. He will forever be remembered as the only CBN Governor in history that made Nigerians buy Naira with Naira”.

@itzlaramiles said, “This President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is a clówn. You chose to suspend CBN Governor, Emefiele & make him a scapegoat because he is Igbo and it’s convenient for you.
Why haven’t you probed Sirika for Nigeria Air scam? You preach One Nigeria yet your cabinet & friends are all crîminãls”.

@PoojaMedia said, “You were “used” as a tool to redesign the naira, frustrated Nigerians, almost sabotaged the election of the present government & you still went to Aso Rock claiming the economic meeting. Nigerians get mind sha. He didn’t resign until dem sacked am”.