… Fresh facts emerge on CBN gov’s removal letter
Barely two weeks after Senate President David Mark stalled 11 Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) senators from defecting to the opposetion All Progressives Congress (APC) by not reading their letter of notice in the House, his Deputy, Senator Ike Ekweremadu last Thursday refused to read letters suspending Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the nomination of his replacement, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, Group Managing Director, Zenith Bank. Sanusi was suspended for alleged financial recklessness.
It was a coup against some APC senators who were spoiling for war over the custitutionality of Sanusi’s suspension. The Deputy Senate President who chaired last Thursday’s plenary played a fast one on Sen. Olubunmi Adetunmbi (APC) who had intimated Ekweremadu of his intention to raise a motion on the floor against President Goodluck Jonathan’s action. Ekweremadu adjourned plenary till Tuesday, March 11.
This is even as fresh facts emerged at the weekend why President Jonathan did not forward Sanusi’s suspension letter earlier than last Thursday.
Adetunmbi was ready to raise a constitutional Point of Order under section 11 of the 1999 Constitution, which did not make any provision for unilateral suspension of a sitting CBN governor by the President. In supporting Adetunmbi’s motion, the APC Senate caucus had prepared for “a worst case scenario” where the chamber would likely reject the motion but we were “assured of one fact; at least, it would be on record that we kicked against it. Let posterity not say that we looked on when constitutional infractions were taking place during our tenure…”
Regardless, before plenary, the Deputy Senate President reportedly prevailed on Adetunmbi to sheathe his sword as he would have his say another day.
Consequently, when plenary commenced, the APC senators had thought that the presiding officer would at least, read two letters, one announcing Sanusi’s suspension after it had been established that the letter appointing Emefiele had been received in the Senate.
As plenary progressed, there was no mention of either letter. APC senators were reportedly stunned when, just two minutes to the end of the session, and after Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN) had moved a motion for adjournment of plenary, Ekweremadu announced that he had just received two letters; one of which was the president’s letter on Emefiele.
The other was to adjourn plenary for two weeks to enable committees concentrate on the 2014 budget defence by ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs).
A senator who doesn’t want to be named, however, disputed Ekweremadu’s claims. He insisted that “all through the session, nobody approached his chair to give him any letter. That letter was with him before the session started.
“They just played a fast one on us by not reading it at the appropriate time before plenary.”
It was also gathered that the APC was jolted by Ekweremadu’s announcement of adjournment of plenary till Tuesday, March 11. “We had thought that since Adetunmbi was prevailed upon not to raise his motion, we would have that opportunity on Tuesday when the Senate President would be around. Nobody gave us any hint that plenary would be adjourned for two weeks…” said another APC lawmaker.
The APC caucus has scheduled a meeting for today in Abuja. A source said two main items on the agenda would be the suspension of Sanusi as well as the N4.642 trillion 2014 budget which is now being considered by the 53 sub-committees of the Committee on Appropriation.
Meanwhile, fresh facts emerged at the weekend why Jonathan did not forward Sanusi’s suspension letter until last week. On Monday, February 3, there were feelers that the President may have made up his mind to communicate the letter to Senate President David Mark which would then be read at the plenary of Tuesday, February 4. It was not to be, even though the President eventually signed the letter. The suspension letter was reportedly kept in the cooler until February 20 and was not transmitted to the Senate.
Consultations with the Senate leadership indicated that since the President was the employer and was not outrightly sacking him, there was no need to transmit a letter to the Senate. Besides, they said that the issue of his suspension was purely “an executive matter which is within the purview of the President…”
As the President’s Media Adviser, Dr. Reuben Abati, was announcing Sanusi’s suspension last Thursday, February20, it was learnt that the letter for his replacement had been received in the Office of the Senate President hours before the day’s plenary.
In the correspondence, Jonathan signed Emefiele’s nomination letter on February 19, a day before Sanusi’s suspension was announced where he hoped that the Senate, in its “usual tradition” will “expedite consideration” of the request before it.
The President hinged Emefiele’s appointment on the provisions of section 8 (2) and (2) of the CBN Act of 2007.
But as Senate resumes plenary on March 11, the Upper Chamber is already split down the middle on Sanusi’s suspension. Mutual suspicion reigns in the chamber as the APC is spoiling for a fight over what it perceived as trickery employed by the PDP in announcing Emefiele’s appointment.
Last Thursday, Senate, in a statement by its spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe, backed Sanusi’s suspension, stating that the President acted within the ambit of his statutory powers.
“The President only suspended Sanusi; he did not sack him. So he acted accordingly,” Abaribe said.
But Senator Bukola Saraki (Kwara Central), in a statement at the weekend, disagreed with the Senate. Saraki insisted that “at no time did the Senate debate the issue of Sanusi’s suspension, adding that “Abaribe’s statement on behalf of the Senate is misleading and should be regarded as his own personal opinion and not that of the entire Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Source: Sun
