Godwin Emefiele is a Nigerian banker who has been serving as the Governor of the

Central Bank of Nigeria The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the central bank and apex monetary authority of Nigeria established by the CBN Act of 1958 and commenced operations on 1 July 1959. The major regulatory objectives of the bank as stated in the CBN Act are ...

since 4 June 2014. Born on 4 August 1961 in Lagos State, Nigeria, Emefiele is originally from

Ika South Ika South is a Local Government Area of Delta State, Nigeria. It's headquarters is the town of Agbor. Ika South is part of the greater Igbo speaking Anioma community of Delta State. It has an area of 436 km and a population of 162,594 at t ...

Agbor Agbor is the most populous city among the Ika people. It is located in Ika South Local Government Area of Delta State, in South-south geo-political zone of Nigeria, West Africa. Agbor is the headquarters of Ika South Local Government Area, in ...

region of Delta State.

Education

Emefiele attended Ansar Udin Primary School and Maryland Comprehensive Secondary both in Lagos, before proceeding to the prestigious

University of Nigeria Nsukka The University of Nigeria, commonly referred to as UNN, is a federal university located in Nsukka, Enugu State, Eastern part of Nigeria. Founded by Nnamdi Azikiwe in 1955 and formally opened on 7 October 1960, the University of Nigeria has thr ...

(UNN) for his tertiary education. He obtained a Bachelor’s Degree in Banking and Finance, finishing as one of the top students in his class, in 1984. Soon after his National Youth Service, Godwin Emefiele returned to UNN for a Masters Degree in Finance, which he obtained in 1986. He is also an alumnus of Executive Education at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(2004) and

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

(2005). The Central Bank Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Business Administration by the

(UNN).

Career in the private sector

Early in his career, Emefiele lectured finance and insurance at the

, and

University of Port Harcourt The University of Port Harcourt is located in Choba in Port Harcourt, Rivers state, Nigeria. It was established in 1975 as University College, Port Harcourt and was given university status in 1977. The University of Port Harcourt was rank ...

, respectively. He also had a short stint working for vodafone Before moving to the Central Bank, Emefiele gained over eighteen years of banking experience. He served as chief executive officer and group managing director of

Zenith Bank Zenith Bank Plc is a large financial service provider in Nigeria and Anglophone West Africa. It is licensed as a commercial bank by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the national banking regulator. As of 31 December 2019, it holds $16.1bn in total ass ...

Plc. Emefiele served as deputy managing director of Zenith Bank Plc. from 2001. He served as executive director in charge of corporate banking, treasury, financial control and strategic planning of Zenith Bank Plc and served on the management team from its inception. Emefiele served as director at Zenith Bank Plc and Zenith Bank (

Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

) Limited. Emefiele serves as director of ACCION Microfinance Bank Limited.

Governor of the Central Bank

Emefiele has been governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria since 2014. During his first term, he supervised an interventionist currency policy at the behest of the presidency, propping up the

Nigerian Naira The naira (currency sign, sign: ₦; ISO 4217, code: NGN) is the currency of Nigeria. One naira is divided into 100 ''kobo''. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is the sole issuer of legal tender money throughout the Federal Republic of Nigeria ...

by pumping billions of dollars into the foreign exchange market. He also introduced a multiple

exchange rate regime An exchange rate regime is a way a monetary authority of a country or currency union manages the currency about other currencies and the foreign exchange market. It is closely related to monetary policy and the two are generally dependent on many o ...

to try to mask pressure on the Naira and avoid a series of devaluations. In 2019, Nigeria's Senate approved a second five-year term for Emefiele. This is the first time that anyone will serve for a second term since Nigeria's return to democracy in 1999. Senator Bukola Saraki read President Buhari's letter on Thursday, May 9, 2019. He was screened on Wednesday and his confirmation came on Thursday, May 16, 2019.

Controversy

In an unprecedented move by any chief of the Nigerian apex bank, Godwin Emefiele ventured into partisan politics against the dictates of the Central Bank Act which provides that the occupant of the governor's position must remain apolitical and independent at all times to preserve the nonpartisan posture of the bank. In May 2022, Emefiele drew public outrage when it emerged that he was seeking to replace President

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician and current president of Nigeria since 2015. Buhari is a retired Nigerian Army major general who served as the country's military head of state from 31 December 1983 to 27 Au ...

in the 2023 presidential election. What started as a rumor when campaign posters of the bank chief flooded the capital city of Abuja soon gained breath when a group of alleged rice farmers purchased the presidential form of the

All Progressive Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the ...

for the CBN Governor. In a series of tweets via his verified account, Emefiele rejected the presidential form and declared he has no intention to contest. But in a quick twist, Emefiele filed a lawsuit at the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking an order from the court directing the electoral body and the office of the attorney general not to stop him from contesting the presidential position. The court stepped down the request but invited the duo to make a formal presentation on why Emefiele's request should not be granted. Nigerians and the Civil Society Organisations have filed multiple cases in court demanding the removal of the CBN Governor for violating the provisions of the apex bank Act. Emefiele is also one of the highest looters on national funds through CBN

Other activities

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

(IMF), Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors (since 2018) * International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM), Member of the Governing Board (since 2018)Governing Board
International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILM)..

External links

Godwin Emefiele Official Website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Emefiele, Godwin 1961 births Living people Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria Nigerian bankers People from Lagos University of Nigeria alumni