Tag: Sanusi

The suspended  governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi,  says he is the  target of a vicious witch-hunt and relentless victimization being prosecuted and fronted by the Federal Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN), acting outside of the rule of law and well beyond its scope of responsibility.

He vowed yesterday that he would only appear before an impartial authority  to investigate him and his tenure at the apex bank.

Mallam Sanusi who,on Thursday, declined an invitation to appear before the FRCN mandated to probe his tenure, wondered whether the council    ”is the appropriate statutory body to conduct such an investigation.”

Speaking through his   media consultants,Celine Loader, Sanusi, made reference  to the enabling statute of the FRCN  Act 2011, particular Sections 7, 8, 11, 25, 28, 58(2) and 62 which said  “it does not give the FRCN the authority and the powers to conduct the investigation it seeks to undertake.”

Celine Loader  queried the intent of the FRCN  and the source of its  mandate,saying the council “has already prejudged what it now purports to be investigating, thereby compromising its integrity and the integrity of such investigation.”

It  added: “The credibility of the purported investigation is further undermined by the fact that, in reaching its prior conclusions and recommendations contained in the Briefing Note, the FRCN neither heard nor provided Sanusi with the opportunity to respond to the allegations that led to the unfounded conclusions contained therein.”

 This pre-existing bias, it claimed, amounts to a “breach of the rules of natural justice, the absence of statutory power, the violation of the rule of law and the prejudicial conduct by the FRCN all point to an obvious witch-hunt and victimization against Sanusi Lamido who has already been controversially suspended from office on the strength of erroneous allegations by the same FRCN.”

It  said that   after making  weighty allegations, conclusions and attendant recommendations in its Briefing Note dated June 7, 2013 to the President, which formed the basis for Sanusi’s controversial suspension, the FRCN ”is now setting itself up as ‘judge’ and ‘jury’ in pursuing a purported investigation for which it has no authority, competence nor mandate.”

Citing words like  “incompetence”, “acting outside the object clause of the CBN”, “nonchalance”,”fraudulent activities”, “wastefulness”, “abuse of due process”, and  “deliberate efforts to misrepresent facts”, used by the FRCN against Sanusi  in its Briefing Note  and recommending to President Goodluck Jonathan “to cause Sanusi and the Deputy Governors of the CBN to “ cease from holding office in the CBN, so that the opposition to the Federal Government does not take advantage of the information and use it to attack the government.”

On Thursday, the Chief Executive Officer of  FRCN Mr. Jim Obazee while reacting to Sanusi’s absence from the investigation maintained that Sanusi’s absence cannot stall the investigation since the investigation is not targeted at Sanusi but at the CBN.

President Goodluck Jonathan and the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF), Mohammed Adoke (SAN), have queried the powers of the Federal High Court in Abuja to hear the suit by suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi.

They argued that the court lacked the jurisdiction to hear and determine an employment-related dispute. The duo said the proper court would be the National Industrial Court.

Sanusi is challenging his suspension and seek a reversal of the suspension.

The counsel to Sanusi, Kola Awodein (SAN), Jonathan’s lawyer, Fabian Ajogwu (SAN) and the AGF’s attorney, Mike Ozekhome (SAN), argued on the priority of applications to be heard by the court.

Justice Gabriel Kolawole elected to hear the substantive suit with the objections, adding the court’s Civil Procedure Rules empower it to hearing the originating summons and objection.

He adjourned till April 8.

When Sanusi Lamdio Sanusi held sway as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Governor, overseas buyers participated well in treasury bills’ auctions, but the last option was dominated by local investors. Foreign investors fret over currency, coming elections, writes Reuters

Foreigners stayed away from Nigeria’s latest Treasury bill auction, the first since the suspension of the central bank’s graft-fighting governor, in a sign that investor confidence is yet to recover after the banker’s removal.

Nigeria offered 180 billion naira ($1.10 billion) in Treasury bills on Wednesday, with a similar amount maturing this week. It sold 275.09 billion naira, with yields on the 182- and 364-day papers rising further above 13 percent, the central bank said on Thursday.

Traders said foreign buyers remained on the sidelines and demand was dominated by less risk-averse local investors drawn by the attractive yields.

Foreign participation was “very marginal,” said one analyst. “It’s probably that as those bills mature some international investors won’t roll over the position in the new auctions, so they’ll just take their FX and leave,” he said, asking not to be named.

Further debt redemptions of at least 320 billion naira are expected in Nigeria this month, providing a barometer of foreign investor sentiment since February 20 when President Goodluck Jonathan suspended respected central bank chief Lamido Sanusi, citing “acts of financial recklessness”.

Many saw the suspension as an act of political revenge by the president, who removed an outspoken critic of his government’s record on corruption in Africa’s top oil producer.

Offshore investors had been pulling back from Nigeria before Sanusi’s suspension amid a broader retreat from emerging markets. But the president’s action further undermined faith in policy stability in Africa’s second-biggest economy at a time of heightened uncertainty before elections in February next year.

Sanusi had been due to step down in June. Jonathan has nominated Godwin Emefiele, the managing director of Zenith Bank , Nigeria’s third-biggest lender, as his successor.

With more debt due to mature in the weeks ahead and limited liquidity in the secondary market, more outflows are likely this month as investors await the return of their money, said Ayo Salami, chief investment officer of asset manager Duet Group’s Africa Opportunities Fund.

“You don’t have sufficient liquidity to be able to exit by selling in the secondary market,” he said. “The worst of the outflows has not happened.”

Another concern is that interest rates could rise if the central bank feels that current policy efforts are failing to stabilise the naira, which has weakened this year amid emerging market volatility and after Sanusi’s removal.

Rate rises would push down prices on the secondary market.

“Given this scenario any investor (foreign or local) looking to exit via the secondary market would likely make a loss. So, better to be out of the market completely rather than risk making a loss if forced to exit swiftly,” said Angus Downie, head of economic research at Ecobank.

“NOT TEMPTED BACK”

Investors will need more reassurance about the naira’s stability and the pre-election policymaking environment before being lured back.

“Our February client survey shows investors having moved underweight FX in Nigeria for the first time in over two years,” JP Morgan said in a research note.

Sanusi had warned that fiscal leakages, including what he said was the state oil company Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failing to remit $20 billion it owed to federal government coffers, were undermining the central bank’s ability to stabilise the naira.

Although the bank has defended the currency by selling dollars, there are doubts about how long that can last as foreign exchange reserves have fallen to a 19-month low of $39.72 billion.

Jeremy Brewin, head of emerging debt at ING Investment Management, said he had reduced his exposure to Nigeria even before Sanusi left.

“We moved out of Nigerian risk late last year and so far have not been tempted back,” he said. “You are giving up high yield but the possibility of currency depreciation cannot be underestimated.”

Nevertheless, despite the upheaval at the central bank, Nigeria’s economic fundamentals remain strong compared to other frontier markets given a relatively low debt-to-GDP ratio and budget deficit, said Philippe de Pontet, Eurasia Group’s Africa director. The economy is forecast to grow around 7 percent this year.

“Nigeria still has a pretty positive story to tell,” he said. “If you look at other markets in sub-Saharan Africa, by and large they’re facing pretty significant twin deficits. They also have currency pressures, thinner FX reserves.”

Still, investors would be more comfortable sitting and waiting if elections weren’t imminent, said Michael Cirami, an emerging markets fund manager at Eaton Vance Corp.

He noted that many who poured into Nigerian bonds after the country was included in a key JP Morgan emerging market bond index in October 2012 are unfamiliar with the country and may be more skittish.

“The natural reaction is to cut and run,” he said. “I don’t see why you wouldn’t see more o

utflows given some of the changes that have taken place.”