The Nation Newspaper

Tag: FRCN

  • Court restrains financial council from obstructing Stanbic IBTC operations

    The Federal High Court in Lagos on Wednesday restrained the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) from obstructing the operations of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc.

    Justice Ibrahim Buba granted an order of interlocutory injunction restraining the council or its officers from “from interfering with, or otherwise impeding, obstructing, molesting or hindering” the plaintiffs’s operations.

    The judge barred FRCN from preventing the plaintiff or its subsidiaries “from carrying on their lawful businesses.”

    Justice Buba also restrained the council from inviting the entire Stanbic IBTC Holdings’ board of directors to any meeting in connection with the defendant’s statutory investigation of the plaintiff’s statements.

    The orders, the judge said, will subsist “until the hearing and determination of these proceedings.”

    Justice Buba ruled on an motion on notice for orders of injunction against FRCN and the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP).

    The plaintiff said FRCN, since August 3, has been investigating its audited accounts for the year ended December 2014.

    The investigations concern liabilities accrued in the plaintiff’s 2014 accounts in respect of franchise fees owed to Standard Bank of South Africa, the registration of which it said has been pending before NOTAP since 2011.

    The plaintiff said FRCN labelled the franchise agreement as illegal, and invited IBTC Holdings’ Chief Executive Officers to appear before it.

     

  • FRCN investigates Stanbic IBTC over unapproved transactions

    FRCN investigates Stanbic IBTC over unapproved transactions

    The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) has said it is investigating Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc for allegedly engaging in unapproved transactions with its foreign technical partners in the last four years.

    Its Executive Secretary/CEO, Jim Obazee, who spoke yesterday in Abuja during a meeting with the Director-General, National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Dan-Azumi Ibrahim, said the Council was responding to a petition written by shareholders of the bank “drawing the attention of regulatory authorities to some unapproved transactions conducted by the bank with its foreign technical partners. The petition from stakeholders, is on issues relating to the way they have been accruing some monies in their account.”

    The bone of contention however is whether Stanbic IBTC properly disclosed these accruals into its account which is what the FRCN is investigating.

    The accruals he said, “must be disclosed properly and they (Stanbic IBTC) require NOTAP approvals before they can make those payments. Now the person petitioning is saying that there is no need making those accruals because IBTC has not being able to secure NOTAP approval.”

    Obazee maintained that “the petition kept coming and then we invited Stanbic IBTC to hear their side of the matter. And having listened to their side of the story, we believe that the petitioners have a good case.”

    In line with its investigation, the FRCN chief said the Council will be meeting with regulatory agencies, such as the “NOTAP which will give the approval, Central Bank of Nigeria as regulator and Security and Exchange Commission because they (Stanbic IBTC) are asking for general mandate for the treatment of third party transactions which we were against because that will not be in line with related party transactions accounting standards.”

    Efforts to reach the Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications at Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mrs. Nkiru Olumide-Ojo were unsucessful as her phone was switched off. However, a source within the bank, who asked not to be named, said the lender cannot comment because the case is in court.

  • FRCN DG tasks staff on service delivery

    The Director General of the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Mr. Ladan Salihu, has directed the staff of the corporation to imbibe the spirit of quality service delivery in line with the focus of the President Buhari’s administration.

    He urged the directors in the establishment to ensure prompt execution of cases requiring their attention to reduce the bottlenecks that have impeded quality service delivery.

    Mr Salihu, who gave the directive at the 2015 FRCN SERVICOM conference held in Owerri with the theme “Quality Service Delivery and Corporate Reputation”, maintained that the directive became necessary in view of the nation’s current challenge which he said “requires effective and unbroken dissemination of information.”

    According to him,”our country is now in a new information age and it is incumbent upon us to serve as a veritable link between the leaders and the led through quality service delivery because the people are thirsty of information and we should keep them duly informed on the issues of democracy and the rule of law”.

    The FRCN boss also charged media professionals “to always separate myth from truth and rumours from clear information and black from white.”

  • FIBAN: Members for FRCN training

    FIBAN: Members for FRCN training

    In line with the vision to ensure improved service delivery by its members, the leadership of the Freelance and Independent Broadcasters’ Association of Nigeria (FIBAN) has undertaken the sponsorship of eight members to the ongoing training programme of the Radio Nigeria Training School.

    This, according to Yemi Sonde, President of FIBAN, is in fulfillment of his administration’s promise at inception.

    In a recent interview with The Nation, Sonde, also a movie producer, had disclosed that his campaign promises revolved around four cardinal points: building the FIBAN national secretariat, which will be called FIBAN HOUSE, training of members at the Radio Nigeria Training School, transparency and accountability.

    According to him, “When we talk about training, it includes workshop, internal training, encouraging members to do a lot of research and getting them to realise that they are the mirror of the society. It is not going to be all the members of FIBAN who will undergo training at this point. It is going to be in batches. I am sure you know that Radio Nigeria runs two sessions in a year. I welcome training and do a lot of research.”

    He, therefore, urged the beneficiaries to take full advantage of the opportunity to improve themselves in the broadcasting profession and motivate others to follow in their footsteps.

  • Monarch, 18 others held for ex-FRCN man’s murder

    A monarch and 18 others were yesterday remanded in prison custody by a Lokoja Chief Magistrate’s Court for the alleged murder of a former Director, Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria (FRCN), Isa Edime and a leader of a vigilance group, Muhammed Wada.

    The accused are from Ojikpadala Egume village in Dekina Local Government Area of Kogi State.

    The Chief Magistrate, Levi Animoku, ordered that they be remanded upon their arraignment by the police

    The accused were charged with criminal conspiracy, trespassing and culpable homicide.

    The prosecutor, Samuel Ikutanwa, told the court that on May 27, Mrs. Mary Edime reported at the Divisional Police Office at Egume and Department of Criminal Investigation, Lokoja that she and her husband were watching television in their sitting room, when the accused and others at large stormed their house with weapons.

    Ikutanwa said: “Mrs. Edime said the accused, armed with AK 47 rifles, cutlasses and axes, dragged her husband into their bus and drove off with him to an unknown destination.

    “She was on her way to the station to lodge a complaint, when she was informed that his body has been found at Abadigba village on Egume/Anyingba road.”

    According to the prosecutor, two phones and 31 expended empty shells of AK 47 rifle were recovered from them.

    Ikutanwa said the accused also “killed” Muhammed Bawa.

    The accused, however, pleaded not guilty; the prosecutor urged the court not to grant them bail.

    Their lead counsel, Alfred Shehu Akpala, urged the court to grant his clients bail, saying an accused is presumed innocent, until proven otherwise.

    He argued that 19 persons could not have killed the deceased at the same time and that the police merely prepared the first information report to punish the suspects.

    Animoku said Section 341 (1) of the Criminal Procedure Code states that a court is precluded from granting bail for an offence punishable by death.

    He ordered that they be remanded at the Federal Prison Dekina, transferred the case to the Chief Magistrate’s Court, Dekina and adjourned  till June 9.

     

  • Court bars FRCN from probing Sanusi

    Court bars FRCN from probing Sanusi

    Suspended Central  Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido yesterday won another major legal battle against the Federal Government.

    The Federal High Court in Lagos restrained the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) from probing him.

    Justice James Tsoho held there is clear evidence that FRCN’s bid to investigate Sanusi’s tenure at CBN is tainted by bias and motivated by bad faith.

    He said while FRCN Act empowered to conduct such an enquiry, it cannot do so without recourse to due process.

    Justice Tsoho held that FRCN’s declaration in a Briefing Note dated June 7 and submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan were ultra vires (outside) their powers as contained in the FRCN Act, 2011.

    He said the defendants, including FRCN’s Executive Secretary, having reached a conclusion as to Sanusi’s culpability as Governor of CBN, as indicated in the briefing note and newspaper publications, can no longer conduct any investigation on the same matter.

    The judge resolved all the issues for determination in Sanusi’s favour, saying the suspended CBN boss was right not to honour FRCN’s invitation.

    “I don’t accept the arguments of the defendants that they acted in line with the law. They did not or have not respected the spirit of the enabling provisions of the Act,” the judge said.

    Justice Tsoho said defendants went against the principles of natural justice by not giving Sanusi the chance to defend himself before they issued a report on the basis of which he was suspended.

    “The defendants have acted ultra vires their powers. They can not investigate the plaintiff’s tenure at CBN for the simple reason that the defendants have acted in breach of the principles of natural justice,” the judge held.

    According to Justice Tsoho, FRCN was the accuser, prosecutor, judge and jury in its own case.

    He said had Sanusi accepted FRCN’s invitation to appear before the probe panel, it would have amounted to going to enemy territory.

    “Submitting himself to the panel would have been like a cockroach finding itself in the midst of fouls,” Justice Tsoho said, to the amusement of the packed courtroom.

    He held there was “unequivocal evidence of bad faith” by FRCN.

    According to the judge, Sanusi was not called upon to make representations at any panel before his suspension.

    “Paragraph one of his suspension letter is based on the Briefing Notes. The defendants have continued to act malafide (in bad faith),” he held.

    The judge added there is “glaring evidence” that the defendants are biased and are unlikely to conduct a fair inquiry into Sanusi’s tenure.

    “They are consequently disqualified to carry out such investigation,” the judge held, adding that should they be allowed to do so, they would only reach a “jaundiced and skewed” conclusion.

    Justice Tsoho further held that the plaintiff sought judicial intervention, and there was, therefore, need “to call the defendants to order by restraining them from overreaching themselves.”

    “The whole questions are answered in favour of the plaintiff and all his reliefs are granted,” the judge held.

    Sanusi had also sought the following: “A declaration that the defendant’s recommendation regarding the plaintiff in briefing note date June 7, 2013, that he be removed from office as CBN Governor, were ultra vires their powers under the FRCN Act 2011.

    “A declaration that the proposed investigation as advertised in the Punch newspaper of March 24, in the circumstance of having reached a conclusion in the briefing note of June 2013, before embarking on the investigation, is tantamount to a breach of natural justice.

    “A declaration that the defendant do not have the power to conduct investigation as advertised in the newspaper.”

    The CBN governor asked for an order restraining the defendants or any person, body, agent, or privies, under its authority, or pursuant to the FRCN Act, from conducting and continuing any investigation or inquiry as advertised.

    He also prayed for an order setting aside or nullifying any report, conclusion or recommendation, based on any purported investigation conducted by FRCN.

  • Court bars council from probing Sanusi

    Court bars council from probing Sanusi

    The suspended Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido, on Monday won another major legal battle against the Federal Government.

    The Federal High Court in Lagos restrained the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) from probing him.

    Justice James Tsoho held there is clear evidence that FRCN’s bid to investigate Sanusi’s tenure at CBN is tainted with bias and motivated by bad faith.

    He said while FRCN Act empowered it to conduct such an enquiry, it cannot do so without recourse to due process.

    Justice Tsoho held that FRCN’s declaration in a Briefing Note dated June 7 and submitted to President Goodluck Jonathan were ultra vires (outside) their powers as contained in the FRCN Act, 2011.

    He said the defendants, including FRCN’s Executive Secretary, having reached a conclusion as to Sanusi’s culpability as Governor of CBN, as indicated in the briefing note and newspaper publications, can no longer conduct any investigation on the same matter.

    The judge resolved all the issues for determination in Sanusi’s favour, saying the suspended CBN boss was right not to honour FRCN’s invitation.

    “I don’t accept the arguments of the defendants that they acted in line with the law. They did not or have not respected the spirit of the enabling provisions of the Act,” the judge said.

    Justice Tsoho said the defendants went against the principles of natural justice by not giving Sanusi the chance to defend himself before they issued a report on the basis of which he was suspended.

    He noted that the CBN chief was not called upon to make representations at any panel before his suspension.

     

  • Unveiling Nigeria’s Financial Reporting Council

    Unveiling Nigeria’s Financial Reporting Council

    Ibrahim Apekhade Yusuf and Bukola Afolabi in this report go behind the headlines to examine the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), a body, relatively unknown by most Nigerians

    SAVE for a few Nigerians, not many people had the faintest idea what the functions and roles of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) were in the nation’s financial service sector until it name came to the fore last Thursday following the suspension of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    In fact, when many hear FRCN their minds go to the Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria.

     

    Crux of the matter

    The FRCN had released a damning report on the operations of the apex bank under the leadership of Sanusi.

    In the 13-page report which was made available to the media penultimate Friday, the council alleged financial impropriety against the suspended CBN governor.

    The FRCN reportedly took Sanusi to task concerning a query by President Goodluck Jonathan in 2013, over the apex bank’s expenditure.

    President Jonathan had on Thursday ordered the suspension of Mr. Sanusi and directed him to hand over to Sarah Alade, the most senior Deputy Governor of the bank.

    The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, who broke the news, said Sanusi committed acts of financial recklessness and misconduct that are inconsistent with the vision of the apex bank.

    According to the statement, “Having taken special notice of reports of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria and other investigating bodies, which indicate clearly that Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s tenure has been characterized by various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct which are inconsistent with the administration’s vision of a Central Bank propelled by the core values of focused economic management, prudence, transparency and financial discipline;

    “Being also deeply concerned about far-reaching irregularities under Mallam Sanusi’s watch which have distracted the Central Bank away from the pursuit and achievement of its statutory mandate; and being determined to urgently re-position the Central Bank of Nigeria for greater efficiency, respect for due process and accountability, President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has ordered the immediate suspension of Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from the Office of Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria.”

    The report of the Council which was made public by Abati, claimed that the embattled Sanusi spent a whopping N1.257 billion for lunch for policemen and private guards in 2012.

    The Council also alleged that Sanusi made bogus payments to airlines for currency distribution as well as held an account balance of N1.423 billion for an unidentified customer since 2008.

    It also accused the apex bank governor of violating financial regulations and carrying out activities with financial implications not related to the CBN’s mandate.

    Other crimes allegedly committed by Sanusi, according to the Council, included approval of billions of naira in ambiguous payments to invoices referred to as “Centre of Excellence” and “Contribution to Internal National Security,” and the CBN’s claim that it paid N38.233 billion to the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company Plc in 2011 for the “printing of bank notes” whereas the turnover of the entire printing and minting company group is N29.370 billion.

    In view of its findings, the Council urged the President to exercise the powers conferred on him by Section 11 (2) (f) of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 or invoke Section 11 (2) (c) of the said Act and cause the Governor and the Deputy Governors to cease from holding office in the CBN and also direct the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria to carry out a full investigation of the activities of the CBN.

     

    FRCN crisis of identity

    Before now, not many Nigerians knew much about the agency. To Jide Afolayan, a lecturer at the Ado Ekiti Polytechnic, as far as he was concerned, the body was probably one of those privately-owned organisations.

    Unlike Afolayan, who is probably mistaken as far as the true identity of the FRCN is concerned, Theophilous Pius, a lawyer, however argued that the body is a funny contraption under the law.

    “Honestly, let me say this and I have said it in several fora, I say without equivocation that the laws setting up the FRCN, I call it a draconian law, it’s just like all these agencies set up with executive fiat with little or no regard for due process.”

    Determined to get the agency’s reaction s to some of the issues proved abortive as the Executive Secretary/CEO, Obazee Osayande told The Nation pointblank in a telephone chat that he was not ready to entertain any such comments on the agency’s activities.

     

    FRCN unveiled

    The Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), formerly the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB), was established in 1982 as a private sector initiative closely associated with the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

    However, NASB became a government agency in 1992, reporting to the Federal Minister of Commerce. The Nigerian Accounting Standards Board Act of 2003 thus provided the legal framework under which NASB set accounting standards. Membership includes representatives of government and other interest groups. Both ICAN and the Association of National Accountants of Nigeria (ANAN) nominate two members to the board.

    The primary functions as defined in the act of July 10, 2003 were to develop, publish and update Statements of Accounting Standards to be followed by companies when they prepare their financial statement, and to promote and enforce compliance with the standards.

    IASB had published many of the earlier standards prepared by the International Accounting Standards Committee and its successor the International Accounting Standards Board, but was more involved in enforcement than in updating to the more modern International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS).

    On May 18, 2011 the Senate passed the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Bill, which repealed the Nigerian Accounting Standards Board Act and replaced it with a new set of rules. The decision was in line with a report submitted by Senator Ahmed Makarfi Chairman of the Senate committee on Finance.

    The Executive Secretary of NASB, Jim Osayande Obazee, had strongly supported this bill, which he said would align Nigeria with other countries and improve investor confidence.

    Subsequently, in June 2011, the Governor of CBN, spoke at a fundraising dinner organised by the NASB for the IFRS academy, with Lamido Sanusi noting at the time that the IFRS would help attract foreign direct investments to Nigeria, even as the NASB Chairman, Michael Adebisi Popoola, called for abrogation of regulations and laws that are incompatible with IFRS.

    The Financial Reporting Council Bill was thus signed into law on July 20, 2011.

    Justifying the move, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Trade and Investment, observed that: “More meaningful and decision enhancing information can now be arrived at from financial statements issued in Nigeria because accounting, actuarial, valuation and auditing standards, used in the preparation of these statements, shall be issued and regulated by this Financial Reporting Council. The FRC is a unified independent regulatory body for accounting, auditing, actuarial, valuation and corporate governance. As such, compliance monitoring in these areas will hence be addressed from the platform of professionalism and legislation.”

    A 2010 report commissioned by the International Monetary Fund said that the NASB did not have adequate funding to achieve its statutory role. NASB urgently needed to hire new staff, retrain existing staff and offer more attractive pay.

    Some corporate members of the FRCN include: Central Bank of Nigeria, Corporate Affairs Commission, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Federal Ministry of Commerce, Federal Ministry of Finance, Auditor-General for the Federation, Accountant-General of the Federation, Securities and Exchange Commission, Nigerian Accounting Association.

    Others are the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Nigerian Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers, Association of Nigeria Accountants, Chartered institute of Taxation of Nigeria.

  • Sanusi: Jonathan orders audit of CBN’s accounts

    Sanusi: Jonathan orders audit of CBN’s accounts

    Financial Regulatory Council to submit report in six weeks

    President: I’ve absolute powers to suspend CBN governor

    SECRETARY to the Government to the Federation Anyim Pius Anyim has asked the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) to audit the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Acting on President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive, Anyim gave the FRCN six weeks to do job.

    The audit is to examine the books showing how suspended CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has run the apex bank.

    Sanusi was suspended last Thursday for alleged “misconduct” and “financial recklessness”. He denied any wrongdoing, challenging his accusers to open the books.

    The presidential directive – to the FRCN – is believed to be a response to Sanusi’s stand on the row between him and the authorities.

    The fresh audit is a follow-up to an earlier on by auditing giants Coopers and Lybrand.

    Sanusi has accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) of being unable to account for $20 billion oil revenue. The argument was still raging when he was suddenly suspended – an action the President defended last night.

    Dr Jonathan said he has “absolute power” to suspend Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from office.

    According to him, it would have been inappropriate to have allowed Sanusi to remain in office while the report of the FRCN, which indicted the CBN 2012 audit report, was being considered. He said because Sanusi is the chairman of the CBN board of directors, it was mandatory for him to be out of office during investigation.

    Dr. Jonathan spoke during the “Presidential Media chat” aired on national television.

    “Yes, I have absolute power. The CBN is not well defined in the Nigerian Constitution,’’ he said, in response to a question by one of the panelists on the propriety of his action to suspend Sanusi.

    Dr Sarah Alade, the most senior deputy governor was appointed to act for Sanusi. Zenith Bank Managing Director Godwin Emefiele has been nominated as CBN governor, to take office on June 2 when Sanusi’s tenure is due to end. The Senate is yet to confirm the appointment.

    The President said Sanusi remained the CBN governor and would be allowed back to the office “today or tomorrow”, if he was cleared at the end of investigation.

    According to him, the president has oversight functions over the bank. The action against Sanusi, he said, was delayed because of the need to consult widely and not to send a wrong signal.

    “When dealing with the treasury of a nation, you have to be careful and consult widely,” Jonathan told the panel.

    The President also spoke on the national conference, which he said would start on March 10, his plan to investigate alleged loss of $20b at the NNPC and the Boko Haram insurgency, among others.

    Jonathan also faulted the argument that indicted deputy governors should have been suspended along with Sanusi, saying that the head was suspended in order not to interfere with ongoing investigation.

    He said the CBN Act will be amended, if need be, to tally with international best practices.

    But Jonathan stressed that he cannot direct Sanusi’s prosecution as the CBN Board and the FRCN have the responsibility.

    On Sanusi’s prosecution, he said: “People must know how government functions. The government doesn’t just prosecute anybody. No; it is not done that way. Anybody could be accused of everything. Even in normal civil service operation, when you are suspected for fraud, the best …is to place you on suspension and the matter is investigated. At the end of investigation, why they place you on suspension is so that you don’t stay in that office and frustrate the process of investigation. So, government normally places such person on suspension without salary. And if it is a grievous offence, they place you on suspension without salary, but not sacked. Until when they conclude investigations; he may go back if he has no case to answer. If he has a case to answer, that is when they prosecute. “

    “These are issues raised by a third party; the Financial Reporting Council is not a member of CBN. So, there could be some issues….probably there could be explanations. I am not saying everything raised there is incriminating on the CBN or Sanusi. No; nobody has said that. So, it will depend on when …It is the board of the CBN and the Financial Reporting Council that will look into those grey areas. And if Sanusi has no case to answer, how will you prosecute somebody that has no case to answer.

    “But if he has a case to answer; it depends on the nature of the case. In the public service, there are some cases that if it is not criminal in nature, it is either act of negligence or probably miskick a process he was supposed to follow, he may not necessarily be prosecuted. There may be other sanctions or indictment. So, everything does not end up with prosecution.

    “Prosecution can only come if a clear fraud is established. But if a fraud is not established, maybe somebody does not follow due process, or some other issues that are not clearly fraudulent, we may not necessarily prosecute him, even though the person is guilty. So, Nigerians should wait; they should not just talk about prosecution.

    He added: “Forget whether it is Goodluck Jonathan, whether the President of Nigeria by virtue of the constitution of Nigeria has power to suspend the governor of CBN, I will tell you yes, the President has absolute powers to suspend the CBN Governor.

    “The 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, about 14 of them and the Code of Conduct. These are clearly defined. The President appoints but the Senate must clear. For the president to remove anybody, he must go through the Senate. The President has oversight over the CBN; so if anybody tells you that the CBN is a different country, it is not true because for the CBN to change the colour of the Naira, the President must approve.”

    “And what happens, for the CBN account, because normally when you audit the CBN, you publish it. So, for you to even publish the CBN audited account, the President must approve it. That means the President must accept the CBN’s audited account.”

    According to Jonathan, suspension came in because the CBN Act is somehow anomalous. “We have similar issues with other organizations, not just the CBN, where the CBN Governor is also the Chairman of the CBN Board, the CBN governor is the Chief Executive of 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 it,” the President said.

    He went on: “So, no President will just wake up and a decision, especially when the CBN is involved, whether suspension or removal … you need to consult, you have to do all what it takes and make sure. Probably, I would have even stayed longer than now but when I just realised that in fact February 2013 that the CBN governor sent me the report of the 2012 audit, because the audit report is supposed to be published in the first quarter of the year. So from that time through April there has been correspondence to and fro.

    He said he suspended Sanusi when he did because the 2013 audit report is supposed to be published this quarter, “but we have not even finished with 2012”. In fact, I had to give provisional approval to audit 2013 report because we have not finished with 2012″.

    Jonathan said he sent the name of Sanusi’s successor immediately, because it is “one of the things we have to do to stablise the system” and to tell the international community that the succession is already there.

    The suspension coincides with Sanusi’s alarm that $20b oil money was missing. The President said: “In terms of if the time is appropriate, there is no time that is even appropriate to suspend anybody. But if you need to be suspended, definitely you really have to be suspended.” The issue of $20 billion, well if you look at the issues, it started from February till now, so it is not as if something just came up now because Sanusi spoke about $20 billion. First of all, he spoke about $49.8 billion; everybody was alarmed. Finally, Sanusi said it was $12 billion; later on he said $20 billion.

    “Whether it is $49.8 or $12 billion, but whatever, even if is one kobo or one dollar that has disappeared from NNPC, we will find out. That I guarantee you, but while doing that, we must follow the due process.”

    On the National Conference, Jonathan said key officials of the conference would be announced on March 3. The conference will start on March 10.

    “By our thinking, March 3, we will announce the names of the chairman, the deputy chairman and the secretary and, of course, we will also engage the administrative staff that will work with them and they will start work for at least a week before we invite others to join. And then, I will formally inaugurate it,” Jonathan said.

    He also spoke about the country’s centenary celebration, which he said is solely funded by the private sector, except that he would host visiting heads of state.

    “The purpose is definitely not to prevent disintegration. Nigeria will not disintegrate. Nigeria will not disintegrate,” he said.

    On the Boko Haram insurgency and insecurity in the country, Jonathan said security agents should get kudos, rather than knocks.

    On Borno Governor Shettima’s statement – that the Boko Haram fighters are better equipped and motivated – he said: “The statement is a little bit unfortunate because you don’t expect a governor to make that kind of statement and if the governor of Borno State feels that the Nigerian Armed Forces are not useful, he should tell Nigerians. I will pull them out for one month; whether he will stay in that his Government House; just one month, but I will fly back to take over the state.

    “But if what he said is correct, I will pull out the military from Borno State for one month and I will go back and take over the state. A governor should be mindful of what he says.

    “Yes, there are issues. No matter how frustrated you are, you don’t make this kind of statement.

    He said he is not aware that a military administrator was to be sent to Borno State.

    On kerosene subsidy, Jonathan said: “I don’t need to be briefed because I was involved. I was the Vice President to the late President (Umaru) Yar’Adua. At about 2008/2009, the international crude oil price dropped significantly; it was 48 dollars and we realised that at that time, the pump price of PMS was 70 to the litre. Of course, kerosine had been 50. And we realised that if we pulled out, Nigerians at that time would have bought PMS at 50 to 60 per litre. And we agreed that we were going to pull out, completely deregulate because if we had pulled out then, the pump price would have dropped. And if the pump price drop, no body will protest. And that is the best time. So those approvals were given. But along the line, the labour leaders were even the people who said, ‘look, this may be short-lived; let’s wait for another six months and if it is stable, then government can pull out’.

    Yar’Adua made those approvals; so, we decided to just leave it that way. The petroleum law does not recognise the President but only the minister.

    “So, what happened is that instead of keeping the pump price at N70, the President now brought the pump price from 70 to 65. If you look at the whole history, that was the first time the pump price of petrol was brought down. Nigerians would have probably been buying at 60 or 62. But the President brought it at 65 and it was announced and gazzetted.

    “When people talk of kerosene that President approved, they would have also talked of PMS. Those are memos from the principal secretary to the President to commence authorising the minister to act. The president has no powers based on the law. But we know that before the minister will effect it, the President must give clearance. So, since the labour people came, every body left it at that stage. The law guiding the price of petroleum products, very clear, for you to increase or decrease the price of any petroleum product, the law says that you must advertise and inform Nigerians in some daily newspapers, state the date and time. If you listen very well, if we want to change the price of petrol, we may say Sunday night so that by Sunday 12 midnight, every station will change. So, somebody going to fill and getting photocopy of documents that were forgotten and starts circulating, I don’t know those issues. To answer your question, kerosene subsidy still remains. I don’t need to be briefed; there was a time that we announced that government had completely deregulated. It was not removed.”

     

  • Presidency plots to put Sanusi on trial

    Presidency plots to put Sanusi on trial

    The Federal Government is not done yet with Mallam Lamido Sanusi whom it suspended on Thursday as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    There are indications that the suspension may be followed soon with the arraignment of the Kano prince for ‘misconduct.’

    The findings of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) on the administration of Sanusi in the CBN which government used as a basis for his ouster indicted him for financial recklessness including commitment of N168 billion of public funds to the execution of intervention projects across the country.

    Some governors elected on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are believed to have joined the league of those pushing for Sanusi’s trial.

    Already, Sanusi has been placed under surveillance by security agencies.

    It was gathered that some forces in the presidency had a secret session in Abuja at the weekend and resolved to have a go at Sanusi.

    They said the that findings of the FRCN against Sanusi should be put before the court to determine his guilt or not.

    Some of the forces also felt the trial would humiliate Sanusi and force him to keep quiet on the $20billion oil funds.

    It was learnt that the moves to subject Sanusi to trial accounted for the desperate bid to set security agencies after him to effect his arrest and hound him into detention.

    But Sanusi was, however, able to stumble on intelligence report on the plot to arrest him while making contacts in Niamey, Niger Republic.

    It was based on the intelligence report that Sanusi changed his landing flight schedule from Abuja to Lagos.

    A reliable source said that the anti-Sanusi forces are out to deal with him for ‘confronting’ the president on the $20billion oil revenue.

    Said one source: “They were pissed off that Sanusi ignored the president’s advice that he should resign. They said Sanusi had tried to undermine the presidency.

    “In fact, some PDP governors have joined the gang-up against Sanusi because they have assumed that Sanusi is speaking the voice of the opposition.”

    Investigation by our correspondent confirmed that the first part of the plot is to arrest and detain Sanusi to “break his spirit.”

    “I think there was a leakage of the initial part of the scheme which made Sanusi to divert his flight to Lagos from Niamey instead of Abuja,” a source added.

    Sources said that security agencies are monitoring Sanusi’s movement.

    “They have placed him under surveillance because of fears that he might relocate abroad. You know some foreign missions are interested in his travails because of the $20billion ‘missing’ oil cash.”