Last week, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) governor, Godwin Emefiele, was suspended and subsequently detained after falling from grace with the country’s newly-elected president, Bola Tinubu. The ousting leaves Nigeria’s central bank digital currency (CBDC) project facing an uncertain future, as the eNaira has failed to gain traction despite the former governor’s best efforts to promote its widespread adoption. The new president wants to revert the central bank’s recent unorthodox policies, which might include revisiting the country’s CBDC rollout.
Mr. Tinubu ousted Mr. Emefiele a mere ten days after taking office. Hours later, the former central bank chief was taken into custody on various criminal investigations, with allegations ranging from breaches of mandate to fraudulent financial activities. His independence had been questioned after his attempts to run for president last year while still in office, in violation of electoral and central bank rules. He has since been replaced by Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi, one of his deputies.
The news casts doubts over the future of the country’s CBDC initiative, which had been a pet project of the now-suspended governor, but had seen mixed results at best. Local sources say the eNaira is “unlikely to be continued – at least with the same fervor as Emefiele.”
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