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The Presidency has debunked the report that President Bola Tinubu has asked Yemi Cardoso, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to resign.
The purported presidential directive to Cardoso became a social media topic on Tuesday, September 17, 2024, after reports by an online media outlet.
The report claimed President Tinubu asked Cardoso to resign because he failed to save the economy and bring the naira to between ₦700 and ₦900 per dollar before May 29, 2024, as promised.
The reports stated, “Cardoso, who reportedly secured the nomination for the plum job through the Yoruba Elders, allegedly lacks the knack to turn around the troubled institution and the poor economy he inherited.
“Cardoso’s undoing, according to insiders, is his inability to live up to the promise he made to President Tinubu in January to salvage the naira and return it to between N700 and N900 to $1 before May 29, 2024, and also, save the economy.”
Presidency’s reaction
Reacting to the report, Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, dismissed the claims as lies.
“It’s all lies. President Tinubu has not asked Yemi Cardoso to resign,” Onanuga wrote in a post on X.
Recall that Cardoso, President Tinubu’s long-time ally assumed office on September 22, 2023.
On assumption of office, Cardoso introduced a series of policies to stabilise and strengthen the currency.
However, in less than one year of his administration at the apex bank, the naira depreciated from ₦738/$ to ₦1,656 per dollar in the official market, and from ₦995/$ to ₦1,660/$ in the parallel market as of Tuesday, September 17.