Tinubu’s aide tells Buhari to suspend Emefiele as CBN governor

Bayo Onanuga, the Director of Media and Publicity to the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to suspend the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, due to ongoing naira scarcity.

Onanuga argued that Emefiele should not continue in his role as CBN Governor following his decision to scrap the cashless policy.

In a tweet, Onanuga said: “I am surprised Godwin Emefiele is still sitting pretty in office, without contrition, after he was forced to scrap his ghastly cashless policy.

“President Buhari should suspend him from office. Emefiele should go NOW.”

About the cashless policy: Nigeria's cashless policy is an initiative of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to encourage the use of electronic payment methods instead of cash transactions. The policy was introduced in 2012 and has been implemented in phases across the country.

The objectives of the cashless policy include reducing the cost of banking services, promoting financial inclusion, reducing the amount of physical cash in circulation, and improving the efficiency of the payment system.

What you should know: In December 2022, the acceleration of the cashless policy's implementation resulted in the suffering of Nigerians.

Before the presidential election, some state governors challenged the CBN policy in court.

The Supreme Court ruled that the old notes would continue to be accepted as legal tender until December 31, 2023.