Tinubu said Emefiele’s foreign exchange policy impoverished the vast majority of Nigerians.
President Bola Tinubu has accused the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, of leaving the Nigerian financial system in a “rotten” state.
The President’s comment comes exactly a fortnight after he suspended the embattled CBN chief from office to pave the way for investigations and planned reforms in the nation’s financial sector.
Addressing Nigerians living in France at his first Diaspora engagement on Friday, June 23, 2023, Tinubu said Emefiele’s approach to foreign exchange made forex flow in and out of the country difficult.
He added that the policy only enriched a few people while impoverishing the vast majority of Nigerians.
“The financial system was rotten. Few people were making away with our money…that is gone now; the man (Emefiele) is in the hands of the authorities,” the President said.
Since his suspension, Emefiele has been in the custody of the Department of State Services (DSS) following his arrest at his Lagos residence, where operatives also recovered some vital documents during a search.
The embattled apex bank chief has since approached the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja to challenge his continued detention by the DSS.
Meanwhile, in his address to Nigerians in France on Friday, the President promised that his administration would implement further financial reforms in the coming weeks.
He said, “Then, the financial system was rotten. Few people were making away with our money and then you yourselves, stopped sending money home to our poor parents.
“That is gone now. The man (Emefiele) is in the hands of authorities; something is being done about that; they will sort themselves out.
“We have security challenges in the country. Maybe that is how they are fuelling insecurity; we have to look at everything. We will change the financial system; it will work for you,” Tinubu noted.
Speaking further, the President recalled how he and his Special Adviser on Monetary Policy, Wale Edun, turned the fortunes of Lagos State around between 1999 and 2003 when the internally generated revenue grew from ₦600m annually to ₦50bn monthly.
“Now, Lagos is on autopilot. Anybody intelligent enough can navigate it,” he added.
