…as Akingbola moves to reclaim Intercontinental Bank
• I wonder why he’s afraid to go to jail –Ibrahim
Suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, may be picked up by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for various acts of alleged financial recklessness and misconduct which are inconsistent with the present administration’s vision for the apex bank.
Sources close to the Presidency told Sunday Mirror that the CBN Governor may be invited this week for questioning on the allegations against him.
President Goodluck Jonathan had last Thursday suspended Sanusi as the CBN Governor and appointed the most senior Deputy Governor of the bank, Sarah Alade, as acting Governor of the bank until the conclusion of ongoing investigations into breaches of enabling laws, due process and mandate of the CBN.
The President also forwarded the names of The Managing Director of Zenith Bank, Godwin Emefiele, to the National Assembly as the new CBN Governor
The source disclosed that though Sanusi had gone to court to secure an order restraining the Federal Government, the Nigeria Police and the State Security Service, SSS, from arresting Sanusi, he could still be invited by the anti-graft agency for interrogation on the alleged offences against him.
Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Lagos had on Friday granted the order following a motion ex-parte application brought by the CBN governor against the government and the security agencies.
Specifically, the court restrained the respondents, their privies, agents, representatives, or any other law enforcement agencies of the government of the Federation from violating, interfering with, or imposing any restriction on the applicant’s right to personal liberty and freedom of movement pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The Judge also directed the respondents and the applicant to maintain the status quo in the matter pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice.
The court, in the same vein, granted Sanusi leave to serve on all the respondents the necessary court papers.
However, according to the report of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), the infractions against Sanusi include:
Persistent refusal and/or negligence to comply with the Public Procurement Act in the procurement practices of the Central Bank of Nigeria. These infractions are listed in the following order:
(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 your 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 has also persisted in promoting a governance regime characterised by financial recklessness, waste and impunity, as demonstrated by the contents of its 2012 Financial Statements.
Besides, Sanusi is under close watch over alleged unlawful expenditure by the Central Bank of Nigeria on ‘Intervention Projects alleged sleaze tacked to the ex-CBN governor is also itemized in the following order:
(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 N163billion 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 CBN’s 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.
Also, the report stated that there were financial infractions and acts of financial recklessness committed by the Central Bank as reflected in its audited financial statements of 2012. These fresh, alleged infractions were discovered in the following order:
(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 reinsertion was requested from you to enable a proper appreciation of the nation’s 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.
Some of the salient observations arising from the review are:
(A) In a most ironical manner, it has become obvious that the CBN is not able to prepare its financial statements using applicable International Financial Reporting Standards (IFFS) whereas Deposit Money Banks that the CBN is supervising have complied with this national requirement since 2012.
Undoubtedly, this laxity on the part of our apex bank, apart from calling to question its capacity for proper corporate governance, is capable of sending wrong signals to both domestic and international investors on the state of the Nigerian economy.
(B) The provisions of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed by the CBN and other Deposit Money Banks on Banking Resolution Sinking Fund have been breached in a material manner. For example, a Board of Trustees (BOT) to manage the Fund has not been constituted since 2010 when it was established. The CBN has however continued to utilise the Fund for certain operations without approval of the said BOT.
(C) Contrary to section 34 (b) of the CBN Act 2007 which provides that the CBN shall not, except as provided in Section 31 of the Act, inter alia, purchase the shares of any corporation of company, unless an entity set up by the approval or authority of the Federal Government, CBN in 2010, acquired seven percent shares of International Islamic Management Corporation of Malaysia to the tune of N0.743 billion. This transaction was neither brought to Mr. President’s attention nor was a board approval obtained before it was entered into.
(D) The CBN has failed or refused to implement the provisions of the Personal Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2007. Accordingly the Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) deductions of its staff are still being computed in accordance with the defunct Personal Income Tax Act 2004, thus effectively assisting its staff to evade tax despite the generous wage package in the CBN, relative to other sectors of the economy.
(E) The CBN had an additional brought forward to General Reserve Fund of N16.031 billion in 2012 but proceeded on a boy age of indefensible expenses in 2012 characterised by inexplicable increases in some heads of expenditure during the year. Examples include:
1. The bank spent N3.086 billion on “promotional activities” in 2012 (up from N1.084 billion in 2011). The bank spent this sum even when it is not in competition with any other institution in Nigeria;
2. The CBN claimed to have expended N20.202 billion on ‘Legal and Professional Fees’ in 2011 beyond all reasonable standards of prudence and accountability;
3. Between expenses on ‘Private Guards’ and ‘Lunch for Policemen’, the CBN claimed to have spent N1.257 billion in 2012;
4. While Section 6(3) (c) of the CBN Act 2007 provides that the board of the CBN is to make recommendations to Mr. President on the rate of remuneration to Auditors, the bank has consistently observed this provision in breach and even went to the extent of changing one of the Joint External Auditors without notifying the office of the President.
5. In the explanations offered by the CBN pursuant to presidential directives, it offered a breakdown of ‘Currency Issue Expenses’ for 2011 and 2012. Interestingly, it claimed to have paid N38.233 billion to the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting. Company Limited (NSPMC) in 2011 for ‘Printing of Banknotes.’ Paradoxically however, in the same 2011, NSPMC reported a total turnover of N29.370 billion for all its transactions with all clients (including the CBN).
6. It is significant to note that the external audit revealed balances of sundry foreign currencies without physical stock of foreign currencies in the CBN Head Office.
Meanwhile, a letter addressed to President Jonathan by the deposed chairman of Intercontinental Bank, Mr. Erastus Akingbola at the weekend detailed how Sanusi, in concert with certain persons in the economy, connived to take over Intercontinental Bank without recourse to due process.
The seven-page letter dated February 09, 2014, which was written by Mr. Akingbola revealed the intrigues and private conversations between himself, billionaire Aliko Dangote, Senator Saraki and Mallam Sanusi before Sanusi eased him out of the bank.
Akingbola also complained that in taking over the bank from him, Sanusi and his gang fraudulently wrote off N40 billion loan facilities granted by the bank. He thus urged that justice be done to prove to the world that he was unduly maligned.
Reacting, however, to the cocktail of crises besetting the controversial ex-CBN Governor, the Group Managing Director of Energy Group, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, described it as curious that Sanusi who relished pushing for the incarceration of allegedly corrupt bank officials is himself afraid of going to jail.
His words: “Sanusi, who enjoyed sending his colleagues to jail for doing nothing, is afraid of ordinary police arrest; he wants court protection now… a man, who had no respect for court judgment of protecting the res in Ibru’s case. Let’s see how he will get an injunction from going to jail, when he gets sentenced soon by a competent court. I am too sure he will be Emir in jail. He who kills by the sword should be prepared to die by the sword,” Barrister Ibrahim analysed.
Source: National Mirror
