The suspension of Godwin Emefiele as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, on Friday is considered as a softer way of getting the man who is perceived an enemy of the presidency out of the way.
Outright sack would have been illegal as no one, according to the CBN act, has the power to sack the CBN governor except the Senate, through a two-third vote.
The acting governor of the CBN was born on the 7th of March, 1962 and studied at the University of Lagos.
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Who is Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi?
The acting governor of the CBN is a mechanical engineer by training, holding a Masters Degree in Mechanical Engineering after acquiring a BSc in the same field in 1983.
He further switched to information technology, and then became a central banker.
After working as a consultant engineer at Mek-ind Associates from 1984 to 1989, he sought and acquired an MBA with focus on finance.
At this point, he switched to Information Technology, a move that shaped his professional path.
In 1990, Mr. Shonubi was appointed head of treasury operations at Citibank Nigeria Ltd.
Then in 1993, he moved to Agusto & Co. Ltd as a supervising consultant, working there for three years before joining MBC International Ltd as deputy general manager, banking operations and IT.
In 1999, he took the position of vice-president, operations and information technology at the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Ltd.
He left FCMB in 2003 for Ecobank Nigeria Plc, where he became executive director, operations and information technology.
Before he was appointed into CBN in October 2018 by President Muhammadu Buhari, he was MD/CEO of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
In the unlikely event that Godwin Emefiele will return to Nigeria’s apex bank, Mr. Shonubi will run the affairs of the bank in acting capacity.
He could be ratified as substantive governor of the CBN after being cleared by the Senate, or replace by a new appointee.
