CBN appointments: A clean slate for economic policies
Key questions:
- Nigeria’s President Tinubu suspended ex-CBN governor Godwin Emefiele in June without senate approval. What implications does this legal complication have on the independence of the apex bank?
- As Yemi Cardoso, Nigeria’s newly nominated CBN governor, takes office, what must the apex bank do to restore credibility and confidence?
The nomination of Yemi Cardoso as CBN governor by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ends the nine-year tenure of Godwin Emefiele, whom Tinubu suspended on June 9th. The statement from the State House announcing Cardoso’s nomination quoted Section 8(1) of the CBN Act (2007), which empowers the president to appoint the governor and deputy governors of the apex bank.
However, the manner of Emefiele’s suspension puts the president in potential violation of Section 11 of the same Act, which indicates the circumstances under which a CBN governor can cease to hold office. One of those circumstances is that the president's removal of the CBN governor by the president “shall be supported by a two-thirds majority of the senate praying that he be so removed”.
Like Goodluck Jonathan’s suspension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi in February 2014, the suspension of Godwin Emefiele in June was without senate approval. In the former case, Sarah
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