What a New Central Bank Chief Means for Nigeria

Controversy was the hallmark of Godwin Emefiele’s nine-year tenure as governor of Nigeria’s central bank. His attempts to manage the nation’s currency, the naira, gave rise to a web of varying exchange rates and drove many businesses and people to the black market. He also approved billions of dollars of loans to the government, helping push public debt to a record. Then Bola Tinubu took over from Muhammadu Buhari as president in late May after winning a hotly contested election. Less than two weeks later, Emefiele was suspended and taken into custody. His dramatic departure paves the way for a major shakeup of Nigeria’s monetary and exchange rate policies.

Tinubu announced Emefiele’s removal as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria in a curt statement issued after the markets closed on June 9. Hours later the nation’s secret police detained him for “investigative reasons.” Folashodun Shonubi, one of Emefiele’s deputies, was appointed governor on an acting basis.