Sanusi is still CBN governor – Jonathan

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President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday said  that  Mallam Lamido Sanusi  was still the  Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN).

Fielding questions from a panel of journalists during  the presidential media chat in  Abuja, Jonathan  said Sanusi would only cease to be  governor of the bank if found guilty of infractions levelled against him.

But he was quick to describe as “unfortunate,” the controversy surrounding his suspension of the Kano State-born banker.

He reminded critics of his action that he had absolute powers to do so  without recourse to the Senate.

The President  said he could only revert to the  Senate  if he intended to sack the governor completely.

He added that Sanusi’s  suspension was not in any way connected with the alleged $20 billion missing funds from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

The President said because he had oversight functions on the CBN, he could not close his eyes against infractions in the bank as revealed in the report of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria.

He said it was not necessary for him to approach the Senate before suspending Sanusi because he could still return to his duty post if cleared.

Jonathan  said, “The  CBN  issue  is quite unfortunate. The  question is whether the President, by virtue of the constitution ,  has powers to suspend the governor of  the CBN and I will tell you yes.

“The President has absolute powers to suspend the CBN governor. CBN is not even well defined in the Nigerian constitution.

“If you look at the Nigerian constitution, Section 153 talks about executive bodies like Federal Character Commission, Civil Service Commission, Independent National Electoral Commission, the Judicial Service Commission and the  Code of Conduct. There are about 14 of them;  these are clearly defined . The section states that   the President appoints but the Senate clears.

“For the President to remove anybody, he must go through the Senate. The CBN as the number one bank is not even well defined in the constitution, but the CBN law makes the provision that to appoint the governor,the  deputy governors and non-executive directors, the President appoints and sends to the Senate.

“But the President has oversight functions over the  CBN. So, if somebody tells you that the CBN is a different entity, it is not true because for the CBN governor to change the colour of the naira, the President must approve.

“Normally, when you audit the CBN, you publish it. After auditing, for you to publish it, the President must approve.That means the President must accept that that audit report is correct.

“But Sanusi is still the governor of the CBN and people must know that. That is why there can never be a substantive governor until the issue is sorted out. Sanusi can come back tomorrow to continue his work because the issues raised are the issues that the board of the CBN with the Financial Reporting Council, the authorities that have powers to look into the financial transactions of the CBN, will deal with.

“On the  issue of suspension, the CBN Act is somehow anomalous. The CBN governor is the chairman of the CBN board. He is the Chief Executive of the CBN and at the same time the chairman of the CBN board, so if there are allegations about the CBN governor, it becomes a problem for you to look into them.

“There were issues raised based on the 2012 audit report and for you to look into those issues, we felt that for you to be sure of what you are doing, the CBN governor  should  just step aside.

“Immediately the board and the council sort out those grey areas and if they do not accept, the governor comes back to do his work. So you cannot now say you are going to the Senate to ask for power to suspend . Maybe in one week or so, the board and the council sort out the grey areas, then you   can  go back to the Senate  and say the man is coming back.

“No. It is when you want to remove the governor completely. Assuming the board and the council looked into those grey areas and felt that the infractions are grave enough for Sanusi to leave completely, then I have to go to the  Senate.

“No matter the issues they raise, I cannot say I am firing him. It is the Senate that can do so. I can place those issues before the Senate and if the Senate agrees with the report, then they will say yes, he can leave.

“ People must realise that the  issues of suspension and removal are very different.”

Jonathan justified the seeming delay in suspending Sanusi since he claimed the issues culminating in his decision started in April 2013. He said  that matters relating to the nation’s treasury must be dealt with carefully.

The President said that he  needed to consult widely before taking a decision on the matter because as a sensitive issue, no President would wake up one day and take such a decision.

On the missing $20 billion, Jonathan said the suspended CBN governor had been brandishing different figures, thereby  making it difficult for him to know which one to believe.

What do you make of President Jonathan's position?