Oluwaseye Ogunsanya
Claim
Imran Muhammed @Imranmuhdz, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a claim attributed to a source, stated that president Bola Tinubu is considering Tony Elumelu, CEO of UBA bank, as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Verdict
False.
Full Text:
Imran Muhammed @Imranmuhdz, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in a claim attributed to a source, stated that president Bola Tinubu is considering Tony Elumelu, CEO of UBA bank, as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria. Muhammed made this claim in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
According to a Source President Tinubu is also considering Tony O. Elumelu as CBN Governor. pic.twitter.com/mXU5QF7qOt
— Imran Muhammad (@Imranmuhdz) June 12, 2023
Since the suspension of Godwin Emefiele as the Central Bank Governor in June and his persecution by the Department of State Services (DSS), the president is yet to appoint a substantive governor for the apex Bank as the Deputy Director, Operations Directorate, Mr Folashodun Adebisi Shonubi is directing the affairs of the bank in acting capacity.
Recall also that the founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation had on Tuesday visited the president at the Aso Villa.
Speaking after the meeting with Tinubu, he said he believes that with time, Nigerians will benefit from the decisions taken by this administration, adding that the private sector is encouraged by them.
He said, “The private sector is encouraged with the bold decisions President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has taken and we hope that in the fullness of time Nigerians will benefit from it because it is all about the Nigerian people, It is all about the youths. It is all about making sure that women are involved and empowered.
“It is all about making sure our youths get jobs and I think Mr. President has this at the back of his mind and I believe, as a private sector person, that the actions and the decisions the president is taking in the long run will help our people.”
Elumelu joined the list of other top players in the private sector such as Aliko Dangote, chairman of Dangote Group; Mike Adenuga, chairman of Globacom; as well as Samad Rabiu, founder of BUA Group who had paid Bola Tinubu a courtesy visit since he became the president.
Verification
Checks by FactCheckElections showed that Elulmelu had denied the claim.
In a direct reply to the claim on X, the business mogul said; “LOL. No, please. This is false news! 🙏🏾”
LOL. No, please. This is false news! 🙏🏾 https://t.co/s9Exz6sEdf
— Tony O. Elumelu, CFR (@TonyOElumelu) September 1, 2023
Conclusion
The claim is false. Tony Elumelu had debunked it.