Godwin Emefiele, the Chief Executive officer and Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc. has been named the new CBN Governor and his name has been presented to the Senate for approval by President Goodluck Jonathan.
If approved, Godwin Emefiele will take over in June from Sanusi Lamido fully and the present Acting Governor, Dr. Sarah Alade, who Sanusi was asked to hand over to immediately after his suspension was announced on Thursday.
A Brief Profile of Godwin Emefiele
According to Godwin Emefiele profile published on Wikipedia,
Mr. Godwin Emefiele served as Chief Executive officer and Group Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc. Mr. Emefiele served as Deputy Managing Director of Zenith Bank Plc. since 2001. He served as Executive Director in charge of Corporate Banking, Treasury, Financial Control and Strategic Planning of Zenith Bank Plc. and had been Management team since inception. Mr. Emefiele has over eighteen years of banking experience. Mr. Emefiele serves as Director at Zenith Bank Plc and Zenith Bank (Gambia) Limited. Before commencing his banking career, he has lectured Finance and Insurance at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, and University of Port Harcourt, respectively. Mr. Emefiele serves as Director of ACCION Microfinance Bank Limited. He is also an alumnus of Executive Education at Stanford University, Harvard University (2004) and Wharton Graduate Schools of Business (2005). Mr. Emefiele holds a B.Sc Degree in 1984 and an MBA Degree in Finance in 1986, both from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka.
Godwin Emefiele is however not on the list of the the 6 possible candidates reported last year to replace Sanusi Lamido as the new CBN Governor. It is therefore a surprise why he was appointed to take the role.
The Central Bank Nigeria is responsible with the regulation and supervision of the banking and financial systems in the interest of the nation’s economy. A CBN Governor should work in the long term interest of the nation and its people while protecting the banks, not a Governor who is a banks man, working in the sole short-term interest of the banks and big corporation and willing to sacrifice the people.
The reason Sanusi was suspended by the President was allegation on “financial recklessness and misconduct which are inconsistent with his administration’s vision during his tenure“. But there are speculations that Sanusi was suspended in other to silent him from further revealing the corruption going on at the NNPC after he revealed the sum of $20 billion was missing on the account of NNPC.
Those who think the President wants to stop Sanusi from further disclosing the missing funds believe Godwin Emefiele appointment as the new CBN Governor is the perfect cabal to protect the interests of the President, vested interests of his bank and banks as a whole at heart.
Zenith bank in particular has been at the center of several allegations and investigations for shady dealings and money laundering for the cabal. Recently, in the case of Jigawa governor Lamido’s son, Zenith Bank Plc was among 13 banks which came under investigation, with its senior managers locked in detention by the SSS for money laundering and terrorist financing. This affected global confidence in the Nigerian banking sector. [Thisday; Nov 16, 2013]Again, Godwin Emefiele‘s Zenith Bank Nig. Plc, was reportedly one of the leading financial institutions at the fore front of defrauding its customers to the total tune of the six billion Naira which the CBN recovered from the banks in 2012. The CBN governor Sanusi Lamido had placed the banks on the watch to see that this robbery from the vulnerable customers did not take place in 2013. Today in grave irony, the manager of a bank that has been caught defrauding the people will be the manager of Nigeria’s Central bank. [PremiumTimes, April 11, 2013; also TheOctopusNews]
Today, Nigerian banks charge the highest fees and rates in the entire world. And under Godwin Emefiele whose bank is one of the banks that has canvassed for and ensured that it squeezes all its clients out of every last penny, Nigerians can expect higher charges and greater exploitation by the nation’s banks.
It is rather peculiar that in ‘developing’ nations, the masses pay more for every single service or utility. Perhaps ‘developing’ is centered on the ability of the masses to reject exploitation of their wicked leaders and their coterie of cabal. Nigerian banks charge for any and everything. Deposits, transfers, withdrawals, text messages, everything you can imagine, even for bank statements. Godwin Emefiele, Group Manager of Zenith bank represents the vampire cabal who are not interested in other legitimate ways of making money, but figure out that if they rob pennies from 112 million of us beggars, the destitute and poor masses, they can rake in billions and be world acknowledged.
Things the banks charge as have been highlighted previously are:
Customers pay N10-50 per sms alert, even for bank error repeat texts; though bulk sms texts are offered to businesses by mobile networks at N1/sms.
Hardware token for security is issued at N2000 ($12);
Bank statements are charged at about N40/page;
Renewal ATM card is issued at a charge of N1000 ($6);
N500 monthly maintenance fee for current accounts ($3);
First Bank and Keystone Bank even have a N100 monthly ATM card maintenance fee!
You also have the Value added tax, for ‘no value added.’
Even reference letters are fulfilled at a charge of up to N2000 ($12).
When compared to US banks, there is no COT, no deposit fine, no withdrawal fine, customers have several free banking options, ATM cards are replaced for free, bank statements are obtained for free, and texts are free. Basically the banks are happy to have your money. But not so in Nigeria where banks are run by the Cabal and the people are unprotected with the Central Bank working in the interests of the banks and not the people.
As he is expected to be confirmed to head the Apex bank, the policies Godwin Emefiele has used to manage Zenith bank and the interests of Zenith bank over those of Nigeria’s millions and in contrast to standard operative policy and accommodation globally are expected to triumph in his decision making at the head of Nigeria’s Central Bank.
In 2012, Zenith bank made a whopping N55 billion in COT’s, one of the highest incomes generated from this ‘fine’ of all banks. COT’s represents 10% of bank revenue.
The suspended CBN Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi promised to cancel COT’s by year 2016 which the banks contested on. It is to be watched if the new CBN governor will work in the interest of the masses on this among other items, or if he will work for the banks whose interests he has strongly vested.
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