The
suspension of the Central Bank Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi is not an
act of witch hunting neither is it a deviation from the anti-corruption drive
of the Jonathan administration.
A
statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public
Affairs, Dr Doyin Okupe explained that the issues that culminated into the
suspension of the CBN Governor dates back to April 2013 following the
submission of the CBN audited accounts for the year that ended on December 31st
2012 and which was submitted to the President by the Apex bank.
The
statement said there were several grievous issues bothering on impunity,
incompetence, non-challance , fraud, wastefulness, and gross abuse of and
noncompliance with provisions of the Public Procurement Act 2007 by Mallam
Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
This
caused Mr President to issue a 22-paragraph query to the suspended CBN Governor
on the 4th of May 2013 and the subsequent written explanation by
Mallam Sanusi which was forwarded to the President on the 22nd of
May 2013. After painstaking analysis and examination, the response was
forwarded to the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria for further scrutiny
and professional advice.
The
Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria thereafter forwarded a 13-page response
to Mr President with various critical observations and far-reaching
recommendations. One of the recommendations states thus “ Your Excellency
may wish to exercise the powers conferred on Mr President by Section 11(2) (f)
of the CBN ACT 2007 or invoke Section 11 (2) (c) of the said Act and cause the
Governor and Deputy Governors to cease from holding office in the CBN”
It
is also important to note the unrestrained manner, recklessness and impunity
with which the CBN Governor had governed the apex bank in the last few years.
In 2013 alone, the suspended CBN Governor single-handedly made spurious
donations and awarded questionable contracts totaling 163 billion Naira (over 1
billion US dollars) to various institutions without recourse to the President
as stipulated by Section 7 sub-section 5(a) of the CBN Act.
Most
unfortunate is the fact that of the 63 projects listed under the Corporate
Social Responsibility of the CBN, ONLY 3 of the contracts above 1 billion Naira
were referred to the bureau of Public Procurement as required by law.
It
was based on this and other recommendations contained in the said report and
after further consultations among stakeholders that Mr President in his wisdom
and in the interest of probity, accountability and in order to preserve the
integrity and sanctity of the Nations apex bank, decided to take the
appropriate decision to place Mr Sanusi Lamido Sanusi on immediate suspension.
This
action of Mr President is coming after a painstaking appraisal and
investigation of all issues involved. The fact that this has occurred at the
same period that Mr Sanusi accused the NNPC of non- remittance of 20 billion
dollars to the Federation Account does NOT in any way derogate from the grave
infractions and illegalities discovered in the audit report of the CBN and its
operations.
For the
avoidance of doubt, Nigerians should be assured that Government will go to any
length to ensure that Mallam Sansui’s allegations against the NNPC are fully
and conclusively investigated and if anyone is found culpable, they will be
subjected to the full weight of the law.
SIGNED
Dr Doyin Okupe
Senior Special
Assistant to the President on Public Affairs
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