Meet acting CBN Governor Folashodun Shonubi
Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi was on Friday night appointed acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by President Bola Tinubu, following the suspension of Godwin Emefiele.
Director of Information, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Willie Bassey had said that Emefiele was suspended following an ongoing investigation as well as because of a planned reform of the financial sector.
Shonubi who has over 30 years of professional experience in the banking industry, is not a typical banker as he was first trained as a mechanical engineer before going into marketing, information technology, and central banking.
Shonubi who assumed the position of Operations Directorate on October 17, 2018, was born on the 7th of March, 1962.
He attended the University of Lagos from 1978 to 1983, receiving a BSc in mechanical engineering before studying for an MSc in the same field at the same university. After working as a consultant engineer at Mek-ind Associates from 1984 to 1989, he changed his line of education and profession by studying for an MBA with a focus on finance.
Shonubi was a marketing executive at the Inlaks Computers Ltd from 1989 to 1990, before landing a job at Citibank Nigeria Ltd in 1990. After moving on to Agusto & Co. Ltd as a supervising consultant in 1993, he joined MBC International Ltd as Deputy General Manager, Banking Operations and IT in 1996.
When Democracy returned to Nigeria in 1999, Shonubi took up the position of Vice-President, Operations and Information Technology at the First City Monument Bank (FCMB). He later moved to Ecobank Nigeria Plc, where he served as Executive Director, Operations and Information Technology.
He joined the services of Union Bank of Nigeria Ltd in 2009 and remained there till 2012. Shonubi was also the director, information technology and corporate services at Renaissance Securities Nigeria Ltd.
After he left Union Bank, Shonubi got appointed as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS).
Five years ago he joined CBN as Deputy Governor, Operations Directorate. He joined the bank precisely on October 17, 2018.
Before Shonubi was appointed as acting Governor of CBN, some presidential sources said sacking Emefiele was considered legally complicated because of the CBN law which empowers only the senate to remove the governor by two-thirds majority.
By law, one of the deputies must complete Emefiele’s tenure which expires in May 2024. The Central Bank has four deputy governors but Shonubi was considered above Aishah Ahmed, Edward Adamu, and Kingsley Obiora.
