President Bola Ahmed Tinubu suspended Emefiele from his position on Friday, with immediate effect. The announcement was made through a statement issued by Willie Bassey, Director of Information at the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
The statement read, "President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has suspended the Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, CFR, from office with immediate effect. This is a sequel to the ongoing investigation of his office and the planned reforms in the financial sector of the economy. Mr Emefiele has been directed to immediately hand over the affairs of his office to the Deputy Governor (Operations Directorate) [Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi], who will act as the Central Bank Governor pending the conclusion of the investigation and the reforms."
Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, a former CBN deputy governor (operations), was born on March 7, 1962. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Lagos, obtained in 1983. He furthered his education at the same university and earned a Master of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Production Engineering in 1985. In 1988-1989, he pursued Finance and obtained a Master's in Business Administration.
Shonubi has an impressive professional background, having worked in various capacities in reputable organizations. He started as a Consultant Engineer at Mek-ind Associates from 1984 to 1989 and then served as a Marketing Executive at Inlaks Computers Limited from 1989 to 1990. He later joined Citibank Nigeria Limited as Head of Treasury Operations from 1990 to 1993 and Agusto & Co. Ltd as a Supervising Consultant from 1993 to 1996.
In his career, Shonubi held positions such as Deputy General Manager, Banking Operations & Information Technology at MBC International Limited (1996-1999), Vice-President, Operations & Information Technology at First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited (1999-2002), Executive Director, Operations & Information Technology at Ecobank Nigeria Plc (2003-2007), and Director, Information Technology and Corporate Services at Renaissance Securities Nigeria Limited (2007-2009).
He also served as an Executive Director, Operations, Technology and Services at Union Bank of Nigeria Limited (2009-2012) and as the Managing Director/CEO of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System Plc (2012-2018). Since December 2019 until his recent appointment, he held the position of Deputy Governor, Operations of the CBN and represented the Governor of the bank on the board of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). Shonubi is married and has children.
The specific details of the ongoing investigations at the CBN have not been disclosed at this time. However, it is worth noting that the introduction of new banknotes by the previous government led by former President Muhammadu Buhari aimed to combat issues such as vote-buying, insecurity, and inflation. The decision caused a severe cash crunch and received widespread criticism.