FACT CHECK: Has Buhari sacked CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele?

Godwin Emefiele

Ex- CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele

Since Wednesday morning, the purported news of the sack of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele has been trending.

On social media, Nigerians are happy about the rumoured sack of Emefiele even when there are no official sources to verify if he has actually been sacked.

Even in the CBN circle, a staff who spoke with PM NEWS said they are also hearing the rumour of Emefiele’s sack but there has not been any official statement to confirm the sack so far.

The CBN Governor has been romancing with politics and is certainly partisan contrary to what is expected of anyone holding such office.

He recently declared interest to contest the presidency and even purchased the APC’s N100 million presidential form, which he claimed was bought for him.

Emefiele took the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the Attorney General of the Federation to Court over his eligibility to vie for the office of the president while still in office.

Emefiele dropped his ambition later on and withdrew the case from the court on Tuesday and retain his position as CBN governor.

But the rumour of his sack is trending online. Several blogs have also reported the purported sack, but there is no substance in their reports.

No official statement has been issued to debunk the rumour or confirm the sack.

Critic, Reno Omokri, debunked the veracity of the story, saying from his calls to top echelon in the CBN, it did not appear that Emefiele has been sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari.

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In an Instagram post, Omokri said: “I just spoke to a very top shot in the CBN about the news in some quarters that President Buhari has sacked the CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele. His response is ‘as far as I know, that is false.’

“I was against Emefiele running and retaining his post. But don’t celebrate the downfall of a man God has not fallen. As long as he is not running, then he should retain his post. There are too few persons of a certain ethnicity in Buhari’s administration.

“We should pray he adds more people from their ethnicity, as long as they are competent and qualified, rather than that he sacks those already there.”

To puncture reports of the purported sack, the Head of Corporate Communications of the CBN, Osita Nwanisiobi told Nairametrics that rumour of the sack was not true.

With the way Emefiele is trending, it can be concluded that Nigerians want Buhari to sack the CBN Governor at all costs.

Garba Shehu, senior special assistant on media to President Buhari also told P.M.News: “Nobody here is aware of anyone being sacked”.

Verdict: Right now, from all indications, Emefiele has not been sacked by President Buhari. He is still the CBN Governor.

 

 

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