A report that Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele, has been sacked by President Muhammadu Buhari trended on social media and blogs on Wednesday.
Though the Head, Corporate Communications at CBN, Osita Nwanisobi, had described the reported sack of Emefiele as “a mere rumour,” checks by Daily Trust showed that the rumour might have stemmed from what happened in Algeria.
Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, on Monday sacked the country’s Central Bank Chief, Rostom Fadli, who was in office for less than two years.
His sacking was announced by the presidency without giving any further explanation.
Tebboune “on Monday ended the functions of the Governor of the Bank of Algeria, Mr. Rostom Fadli, and appointed Mr. Salah Eddine Taleb to replace him.”
Fadli had assumed office in June 2020 as interim head of the central bank of Africa’s fourth-biggest economy.
The chances are that the mention of Algeria Central Bank was misconstrued as Nigeria’s, especially in light of the recent controversies surrounding CBN Governor, Emefiele.
Many people, including Ondo State Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, had called for Emefiele’s sacking after a Fulani group reportedly obtained N100 million presidential forms for him.
Verdict
Emefiele’s sacking by President Buhari is false news which likely stemmed from a misinterpretation or a twist of Algerian Central Bank governor’s dismissal.
