Appointing SANUSI As CBN Governor Was A Huge Mistake – PAT UTOMI

As controversy rages over the suspension of Mallam Sanusi Lamido, a renowned economist, Professor Pat Utomi has berated the tenure of Lamido as a Central Bank governor, describing his original appointment as “a huge mistake”

Reacting to the suspension of the controversial apex bank chief in a chat in Abuja, the Director of Lagos Business School, said Sanusi should never have been appointed as a Central Bank governor in the first place, declaring “it should not have happened”

Utomi joined two Senior Advocates of Nigeria, Mr. Femi Falana and Chief Mike Ozhekome who had issued legal positions on the suspension of the apex bank chief.

While Falana blamed Sanusi for not resigning when so directed by President Goodluck Jonathan, Ozhekome cited alleged infringements of extant rules to justify Sanusi’s suspension.

Utomi, however, faulted the nomination and appointment of Sanusi five years ago on the ground that the suspended bank chief lacked certain qualities of a Central Bank Governor

Utomi said: “It should not have happened. Sanusi’s appointments was wrong in the first place. He was not suitable for the job. CBN governors all over the World are men of great discretion in actions, pronouncements and deeds.

Court Bar SSS, Other Security Agents from Arresting Sanusi Lamido pending plea

A court has issued an order on security agencies, barring them from arresting suspended Central Bank Governor Lamido Sanusi, after he was briefly detained and his passport seized at the airport, a document viewed by Reuters showed.

Justice Buba Ibrahim issued the order on Friday, after Sanusi complained that his detention had breached his right to freedom of movement, since he had not yet been charged with committing the financial malpractices for which he was suspended.

President Goodluck Jonathan suspended Sanusi on Thursday, removing an outspoken critic of his government’s record on corruption, citing “acts of financial recklessness”.

Since the suspension, presidential spokesman Reuben Abati has accused the central bank of procurement irregularities during Sanusi’s tenure, most of them dating back to 2011.

Sanusi, who was due to end his term in June, had been presenting evidence to parliament that he said showed the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to pay $20 billion it owed to federal government coffers, fueling suspicion his arrest was meant to silence him.

The presidency denies it was politically motivated.

NNPC has repeatedly denied Sanusi’s allegations, which brought the bank governor into conflict with Jonathan’s administration a year before the presidential elections.

The court ruling will remain in place until a case Sanusi brought alleging violation of his human rights in his brief airport detention, has been decided, the judge said.

That case will continue on February 28.

Sanusi’s suspension caused panic in the markets, with the naira falling to record lows, as foreign investors sold off bonds, money and stocks.

Sanusi’s Courage Is Scarce Says Pastor Bakare

The Serving Overseer of The Latter Rain Assembly, Lagos, and running mate to General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) in the 2011 presidential elections, Pastor Tunde Bakare, on Sunday said that the suspension of Mr. Lamido Sansusi as Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria would have negative consequences on the nation and its government.
The fiery preacher described Sanusi’s
suspension as ego-driven and destructive power game
In a prepared text, which he delivered during the Sunday service, Bakare said that the suspended CBN governor was being persecuted for exposing the rot in the oil industry.
He warned that the action of President Goodluck Jonathan in suspending Sanusi on February 22 could have negative consequences on the investing public and even government revenue
Bakare said, “The suspension of Sanusi is an ego-driven, counter-productive and destructive power game that will have very dangerous consequences for the nation and the government.
“It is important not to demystify the institutions of the country. Personalities and people will go but the institutions must remain; the institutions must remain strong to enhance the growth and peace of the society.
“You can imagine the negative consequences of this suspension on the investing public, on shares and even on government revenue”.
The cleric, whose text was with the theme, ‘Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the Federal Government of Nigeria: Aitete m’ole, ole m’oloko’, said the suspended CBN governor became a victim because he delayed blowing the whistle about the corruption in the oil industry.
According to the cleric, ‘Aitete m’ole, ole m’oloko’ a Yoruba proverb means that “when the owner of the farm fails to apprehend the thief in time, the thief will apprehend the owner and label him the thief”.
Bakare, who is the convener of Save Nigeria Group, trailed the origin of Sanusi’s ordeal to a letter he wrote in September 2013 to President Goodluck Jonathan accusing the Nigerian National petroleum Corporation of failing to repatriate $49.8bn (about N8trn) into the Federation Account between January 2012 and July.
“In order words, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, undeniably a crusader of truth and justice, may have blown the whistle indicting the very heads of the crime economy just too late”, Bakare said.
He said, “The opportune time to blow the whistle should have been when the CBN, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the PPPRA, the NNPC and other agencies provided conflicting figures as to actual subsidy payments to the Adhoc Committee on the management of fuel subsidy”.
According to him, the NNPC had been spared of any indictment in all the three reports “from the 2011 KPMG report to the 2012 Farouk Lawan Committee Report and from the 2012 Nuhu Ribadu Committee Report to the 2013 Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative report.
“When Save Nigeria Group raised the bar during the fuel subsidy protests and maintained that government-backed corruption fueled by NNPC was the main issue, perhaps a corroborating voice by the CBN governor would have added weight to the outcr”, Bakare said.
He, however, commended Sanusi for speaking up against corruption and urged him to take solace in the words of William Curren Bryant, who he quoted as saying, “Truth crushed to earth, shall rise again”.
Bakare added that “Make no mistake about it; few men have the courage of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
“Few men have the aristocratic dignity of a man who time and again, while in public office, raised his voice against profligacy and monetary imprudence especially among the legislators and sometimes among the executive; perhaps, no serving government official has been as outspoken against misgovernace as the suspended CBN Governor”.

Sanusi Lamido Clear Air On Recklessness Allegation

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