Politicization Of CBN, Sanusis Shameful Exit, And 2015 Polls--Republic Reporters New York [RR] ABUJA--Republic Reporters monitoring the politicization of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, under political brinksmanship by now suspended CBN Governor Mr. Sanusi-Lamido-Sanusi caught the attention of national dailies. Tribune, Olawale Rasheeds piece published yesterday, Friday, February 28, 2014, hit a home run on this topic. Tribune said that: IN the last few weeks, the altercation between the Federal Government and the suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has ruled the political air wave. Olawale Rasheed writes on the politics surrounding the saga..., it said. Adding that, the suspension of Mallam Sanusi Lamido as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is increasingly taking a political dimension with issues on both sides of the divide being sidelined in the ensuing controversies. The close link among the person of the suspended governor, the opposition and the ruling party is raising questions about the increasing politicisation of the apex bank, the oil sector and even the management of the nations economy. For more than two years when the altercation commenced between the presidency and the apex banker, the introduction of politics to the encounter has intensified. The opposition saw in the Kano State-born banker a useful tool in their bid to supplant the incumbent and a web of support appeared to have been woven around him, granting him enormous exposure, especially on critical national political issues. Sanusi, himself a personality with strong viewpoints, appeared to have fallen into the warm embrace of the oppositions infrastructure which he knowingly or unknowingly exploited. While the ultra exposure lasted, the banker shook the banking world to its foundation, rattling the lords of the banking hall.., it said. Read full text beneath: The untouchables were exposed and the mighty and the high became guests at the court rooms. Top bank owners lost their possessions and his hammer was dreaded among bankers nationwide. He was differs from his predecessor, Charles Soludo. Sanusi is a fiery character, a tempestuous being, a compulsive strong-willed professional who, probably due to royal blood, also has a domineering outlook. His appointment was greeted with mixed reactions in the first place. As a man with conviction on the path he has already charted, Sanusi entered the top bank with a fair understanding of the CBN Act. From the beginning, the autonomy so conferred on the governor appeared to perfectly fit into his character as a fiercely independent-minded leader. The autonomy, which interestingly has embedded restraints and constraints, provided the man with sufficient leeway to push his agenda, to create his own empire and to create a precedent of an apex bank pursuing full independence even of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the country The problem probably started early as there was confusion between operational and administrative autonomy as enunciated in the CBN Act. The idea of conferring operational autonomy on the bank in the regulation of banking sector, fixing interest rates and providing direction for the economy seems mixed up with the other level of oversight and control granted the head of the executive branch and the legislature. The confusion arose because the expanding apex bank boss assumed the law granted full autonomy. Timeline of altercations Certain things appeared hidden or insufficiently explained to Nigerians. The rift started when and what triggered it? A look at the sequence of events is sure to clear air on so many issues. For example, which preceded the other; the audit query on CBN account or the massive allegation against the oil corporation by the bank chief? To start with, those in the know claimed the CBN governor sent the president the audited accounts of the bank on 26 February, 2013. On 2 April, the president sent the audited accounts to the FRCN for review, following grey areas for examination and advice. On 4 May, 2012, the president asked the CBN governor to explain issues raised by the reporting council. On 20 May, the CBN governor sent his response to the query from the president. While the query was on the presidents desk, Mallam Sanusi sent a request to the president to consider giving approval for the apex bank to consider and approve for the bank to renew the appointment of its external auditors. This was on 29 June. The president responded by writing pls, KIV. I am still looking at the audit report. The matter reached a crescendo when on 23 July, the president wrote to the CBN governor; please, be informed that I remain unsatisfied with the CBN audited financial statement for the year 31st December 2012. And the president drove the point home, because while approving the appointment of external auditors, he wrote the CBN governor, affirming; please, note that this is without prejudice to the eventual outcome of my analysis of the financial reports for the year ended 2012. The exchange of correspondence between the CBN governor and the president, thus, commenced in February 2012 and ended by July of the same year. From February to July, the CBN governor did not raise any issue about revenue remittance and the exchanges did not in any way have anything to do with the oil corporation. Details of CBN audit review Checks further showed that the reporting council report reached the president in May. While the report was not sent directly to Sanusi, its content must have been leaked to him. The content of the report goes as follows: The particulars of the infractions against Sanusi are: Persistent refusal and/or negligence to comply with the Public Procurement Act in the procurement practices of the Central Bank of Nigeria: (A) By virtue of Section 15 (1) (a) of the Public Procurement Act, the provisions of the Act are expected to comply to all procurement of goods, works and services carried out by the Federal Government of Nigeria and all procurement entities. This definition clearly includes the Central Bank of Nigeria. (B) It is, however, regrettable that the Central Bank of Nigeria, under his leadership, has refused and/or neglected to comply with the provisions of the Public Procurement Act (PPA). You will recall that one of the primary reasons for the enactment of the PPA was the need to promote transparency, competitiveness, cost of effectiveness and professionalism in the public sector procurement system. (C) Available information indicates that the Central Bank has, over the years, engaged in procurement of goods, works and services worth billions of naira each year without complying with the express provisions of the PPA. (D) By deliberately refusing to be bound by the provisions of the Act, the CBN has not only decided to act in an unlawful manner, but also persisted in promoting a governance regime characterised by financial recklessness, waste and impunity, as demonstrated by the contents of its 2012 Financial Statements. Unlawful expenditure by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Intervention Projects across the country: (A) the unacceptable level of financial recklessness displayed by the leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria is typified by the execution of Intervention Projects across the country. From available information, the bank has either executed or is currently executing about 63 such projects across the country and has committed over N163 billion on them. (B) It is inexcusable and patently unlawful for any agency of government to deploy huge sums of money as the CBN has done in this case, without appropriation and outside CBNs statutory mandate. It is trite that the expenditure of public funds by any organ of government must be based on clear legal mandates, prudent costing and overriding national interest. Financial infractions and acts of financial recklessness committed by the Central Bank as reflected in its audited financial statements of 2012: (A) Pursuant to Section 50 of the CBN Act 2007, a copy of the audited financial statements of the CBN for the year ended 31st December 2012 was sent to Mr President. Based on the issues raised in the financial statement, a reaction was requested from you to enable a proper appreciation of the nations economic outlook. (B) The response to this query was further referred to the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria. The review by the council, rather than allay the fears of government, further confirmed concern about the untidy manner in which you have generally conducted the operations of the CBN, it alleged. Sanusi fights back The sequence of events moved further, as by 25 September, four months after the reporting councils report, Sanusi wrote a stinker to the president about alleged missing $49 billion dollars. The letter leaked to the press contained damning assertions which put the government on the spot. Sanusis letter left the world spell bound. The currency it gained was further helped by the reality that the audit report, including the presidential query, was never known to the public. The oil corporation, in its report, accused Sanusi of playing politics, challenging the apex bank chief to disclose remittances in three accounts held with it. The Nigeria National petroleum Corporation (NNPC) then pointed out that remittances from oil revenues reached the CBN through three accounts maintained by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) and the NNPC. The corporation pressed further by stating that there was a monthly reconciliation meeting normally involving the CBN and the three remitting agencies. But, Sanusi persisted until an account reconciliation meeting organised by the finance ministry. The meeting resolved that the un-reconciled figure was between 10 and 12 billion dollars. Sanusi had to publicly apologise for his announcement that $49 billion was missing, accepting that he was misinformed. Even at that, Sanusi pressed further that the NNPC ought to account for about $10 billion yet to be reconciled. Here, the NNPC opened up, admitting that the money was spent on its operation in line with the law. At a press conference in Abuja, the Group Executive Director, Finance and Accounts of the corporation, Mr Bernard Otti, expressing surprise that despite clarification, misconception still trailed the reconciliation of accounts with the CBN. Regretting that a section of the media had continued to distort facts of the case, Otti insisted that the $10.8 billion which is currently the subject of ongoing inter-agency reconciliation exercise is not missing, but expenditures incurred as part of statutory responsibilities which the NNPC, as the national oil company, executes on behalf of the Federal Government. He claimed that the unpaid subsidies from the government to the corporation by the NNPC account was $8.49 billion which constituted a significant portion of the yet-to-be-reconciled $10.8 billion. He added that these expenses were incurred by the corporation while fulfilling its essential statutory responsibilities. Describing the NNPC as a supplier of last resort, Otti explained that the mandate of ensuring that the nation is wet with petroleum products round the clock rests solely on the corporation. The corporation is expected to discharge this duty, irrespective of the prevailing international market conditions of crude and products. NNPC is the sole importer of products into the country. The corporation has successfully kept the nation wet with products, especially PMS, for the past three years as can be verified from the absence of queues at petrol stations during normal and festive seasons. It is significant to note that the government has not made any payments to the corporation in the name of subsidy during the period under review. Part of this report was culled to Republic Reporters by Tribune... ____________________________________________________________________ REPUBLIC-REPORTERS....standing between civilization and anarchy....
Posted on: Sat, 01 Mar 2014 19:21:11 +0000
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