SANUSI SUSPENDED ON N163B CONTRACT SCAM……… Jonathan Tells Court. President Goodluck Jonathan insisted on tuesday that the suspended governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Sanusi Lamido Sanusi was placed on suspension on account of his indictment on N163B contract and frivolous donation scams. The President told a federal high court in Abuja that Sanusi upon his indictment by the Financial Regulatory Council of Nigeria (FRCN) was issued a query to explain the alleged contact allegations against him. Rather than facing the query the Presidency said that the suspended CBN governor resorted to blowing baseless whistles on imaginary missing $49B to cover up the alleged misdeed against him. Arguing his preliminary objection against Sanusi court action challenging the power to suspend him, the President asked Justice Gabriel Kolawole to strike out the case. The President through his counsel Dr. Fabian Ajogwu SAN told the court to stay clear of the case because it has no jurisdiction to venture into hearing of such case. The counsel submitted that Sanusi’s case was a labour related matter because it bothers on employment insisting that the appropriate place to hear such a case is the National Industrial Court. Ajogwu SAN argued that the plaintiff was shying away from the fact with his claim that he (Sanusi) was not an employee of the President but the CBN. He said that the power to appoint was constitutionally vested on the President and by the provisions of the same constitution, the President has power to suspend. “Let the truth be told here that Sanusi was asked to go on suspension by the President having been indicted and queried on the N163B contract scam” “As a matter of fact, the plaintiff has been indicted and queried four months before he embarked on his frivolous and baseless allegations of missing money in the NNPC in the bid to divert attention from his pending indictment”. Another counsel Chief Mike Ozekhome SAN who stood for the Minister of Justice asked the court to hands off from the case because it has no jurisdiction to entertain it. Ozekhome urged the court not to refer the case to the National Industrial Court but to strive it out in line with provision of the law. He argued that the President had not done anything illegal or unconstitutional with the suspension because Sanusi was just a mere employee of the President who was only asked to step aside to pave way for unhindered investigation into the allegation of N163B fraud against him. However in his fierce opposition to the President’s application, Sanusi maintained that his case cannot be struck out because he only sought for interpretation of powers of the President as it relates to the CBN Act. His Counsel Chief Kola Awodein SAN pleaded with the court to dismiss the request of the President and the AGF on the ground that the request was baseless and has no merit. Awodein cited section 14(6) of the CBN Act which made the CBN governor and deputies as CBN employees and not that of the President.
Posted on: Tue, 08 Apr 2014 21:25:47 +0000
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