Nowadays when the name Sanusi Lamido is called, the reply you get are the stereotypes stories people read and views compelled by political and religious sentiments. But can we take a moment to pause and ask ourselves why now? Why is the name-calling coming at a time when there's a scandal in the house? What happened to the once dynamic CBN Governor?
Now that's the issue we are about to talk about casting all sentimental attachments aside, let me borrow a publication from ThisDay Live where Sanusi Lamido Sanusi responded to the allegations in relation to his suspension:
SANUSI LAMIDO SANUSI, CON
GOVERNOR, CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
RESPONSE TO THE ALLEGATIONS IN RELATION TO
SUSPENSION
I am compelled to make this public statement to address the various allegations
levied against the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and cited as the reasons for
my suspension from office as the Governor of the CBN on the 19th of February
2014.
As a matter of record, the allegations were made in the following documents:
i. Briefing Note of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria (FRCN) dated
7th June 2013, Ref: PRES/188/T&I/89 to His Excellency, President Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan [the Briefing Note];
ii. The Letter of Suspension dated 19th February 2014, which I received from
the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation; and
iii. The petition dated 9th February 2014 by Mr Erastus Akingbola.
However, before I go into the above issues, let me reiterate for the records,
the achievements of the CBN during my tenure as the Governor:
The Record
Firstly, let me state that I have been extremely fortunate to have had a solid
and supportive team led by the Deputy Governors and supported by the
Departmental Directors, as well as thousands of hardworking and dedicated staff
who must be given the credit for all that the CBN has achieved. I would also
like to acknowledge for the record, the foundation laid by my predecessor,
Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, in a number of areas. The CBN Act, 2007,
which he championed, established the CBN as a truly autonomous entity of the
Federation, and made it possible for us to take the difficult decisions
necessary for restoring and maintaining macroeconomic stability. The FSS 2020
and PSV 2020 documents provided the principal strategic roadmaps that led to
many of the innovations in payment systems, non-interest banking, financial
inclusion, the Asset Management Corporation, IFRS, Risk-based Supervision, and
the like.
Indeed, it will be impossible for me to review almost five years of
revolutionary change made possible by the work of thousands of employees in the
CBN in collaboration with other Regulators, Banks and Other Financial
Institutions and Government Ministries in this press statement. However, I will
mention a few of the key highlights.
On monetary policy, the Bank has improved the institutional framework for
policy-making. A properly constituted Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) with a
clear mandate for maintaining stability has been established. The MPC has been
supported by improvements in research, data and forecasting capacity, and we
have also paid attention to clear communication of our objectives to the
market. As a result, headline inflation has remained below 10 per cent since
January 2013, from a peak of 15.1 percent and 13.9 percent in 2008 and 2009
respectively. Core inflation declined from 11.2 per cent in December 2009 to
7.9 percent in December 2013, while food inflation maintained a downward trend
from 15.5 percent in December 2009 to 9.3 percent in December 2013. In addition
to the conventional liquidity management products, the Bank approved financial
products to manage liquidity in non-interest financial institutions. The CBN
also promoted the formation of the financial Markets Dealers Quotations
Over–the-Counter (FQDM OTC) Plc as a self-regulatory OTC operator.
In the area of safeguarding the value of the local currency and maintaining
stability in the foreign exchange market for the overall sustenance of
macroeconomic stability and growth, the CBN over the period has successfully
maintained a stable exchange rate regime and a robust external reserve position
conducive to sustainable growth and development.
On the Banking System, I was appointed Governor in the middle of a global
financial crisis when the Nigerian banking system was on the verge of collapse.
The Bank moved swiftly to remove the managing directors and executive directors
of the banks where major corporate governance failures were discovered,
provided liquidity support, pioneered the setting up of the Asset Management
Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) to purchase non-performing loans, recapitalize
the banks and pilot a process that led to mergers and acquisitions, as well as
recapitalization of all the weak and failing banks. As a result, all financial
soundness indicators – Capital Adequacy, Asset Quality, Liquidity and
Profitability ratios – were normalized. As a result of the work by the
Bank, not a single depositor or creditor lost money in any Nigerian bank during
or after the financial crisis.
In addition to the quantitative measures, we broke up universal banks and
encouraged the setting up of specialized banks (including the first Non –
interest Bank in the Country’s history), pushed for the adoption of IFRS and
Basel 3, enhanced risk-based supervision, issued Competency Guidelines for the
staff in the banking industry, established a Consumer Protection Department and
developed a Financial Inclusion Strategy and Roadmap, among others for the CBN.
The Bank implemented policies aimed at reducing the excessive use of cash in
the system to ensure safety, improve efficiency and curb money laundering. The
transformation of NIBSS, the insistence on interoperability of channels,
encouragement of electronic banking, the licensing of Mobile Money Operators,
the Agent Banking and tiered-KYC frameworks have all led to rapid growth in
volume and value of non-cash transaction and enhanced financial inclusion.
The Bank has played its leadership role in ensuring industry compliance with
environmental sustainability and governance standards, including a strong focus
on women and the handicapped.
The CBN in the last five years has taken a leading role in providing
long-term low-cost funding to priority sectors of the Nigerian economy in a bid
to help in bringing to reality the Transformation Agenda of the government of
your Excellency. We have provided these funds at single-digit interest rates to
micro, small and medium enterprises, as well as to companies operating in the
power, aviation, and agricultural sectors of the economy, and also to large
industrial enterprises with potential for structural transformation.
The Bank has invested in human capital, improved staff welfare and attracted
and retained specialized skills in the areas of Banking Supervision, Information
Technology, Shared Services and Risk Management.
On Financial Performance, the Bank has in the last five years kept a lid on
overheads and cost of currency management. As a result, the Bank has continued
to produce sterling results and contributed substantially to the Federal
Budget. In the five years, 2009 – 2013, the Bank contributed N376 billion to
the Federal Budget as Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).Based on 2012
financials alone, we paid N80 billion to the Ministry of Finance. On the basis
of the 2013 results and at the request of the Coordinating Minister of the
Economy (CME), we paid N159 billion to the Ministry of Finance in
February this year; the same month the audited accounts of the CBN were
approved by the Committee of Governors (COG). Indeed, due to the precarious
position of Government finances, the CBN in February 2014, upon the request of
the CME, gave the Ministry a further ‘Advance IGR’ of N70 billion in
anticipation of 2014 profits.
May I add that, in 2008, the year before my appointment, the CBN contributed
N8 billion to the Federation Account. Although the Bank is not a profit-centre,
in the first four years of my term, the Bank alone contributed 75 percent of
the total IGR paid by MDAs leading to commendation by the House Committee on
Finance at several Public Hearings.
Recognitions
As a result of these achievements of my colleagues and staff, we received
numerous recognitions consistently throughout my tenure from highly-regarded
publications. These awards are based on a competitive process where analysts
and economists rank Central Bank Governors across regions and the globe.
In 2010, The Banker Magazine, a publication of Financial Times in London,
named me Best Central Bank Governor in the World and Best in Africa. At the
Annual World Bank/IMF Meetings, Emerging Markets, a publication of Euromoney
Institutional Investor named me Best Central Bank Governor in Sub-Saharan
Africa for 2009, 2010 and 2012. The African Banker Magazine named me Best
Central Bank Governor in Africa, 2012. This is in addition to being named
Forbes Africa Person of the year 2011 and listed by TIME as one of the 100 most
influential people in the world, 2011.
I have always regarded these honours not as personal accolades, but as a
tribute to our nation and the committed and resourceful women and men of CBN.
RESPONSE TO THE ALLEGATIONS IN RELATION TO MY SUSPENSION
- On Wednesday 10th March 2014, I submitted a Memorandum to
His Excellency, Mr President, with supporting documentation, effectively
addressing all the allegations contained in the FRCN Briefing Note, the
Letter of Suspension and the Akingbola Petition.
- Having submitted my response to the President, I am further
compelled, following the recent press briefing and comments by the Senior
Special Adviser to the President on Media, as well as numerous other
references to the allegations in both local, international and online
media, to put to the public my responses, in the interest of transparency,
accountability and my responsibility to the Nigerian people. Let me also
state that I saw the FRCN “Briefing Note” for the first time when it was
attached to the suspension letter. At no time was this report sent to the
CBN either by the President or the FRCN for comments or explanations. As
for the Akingbola petition, it is a rehash of baseless allegations he has
been making since 2010 which apparently he must have been asked to
reproduce on February 9, ten days before the suspension. It is indeed
strange that the CBN Governor can be suspended based on allegations
written by a man who ran his bank into the ground and against whom
judgement has been obtained in a London court, and who furthermore is
facing criminal prosecution at home for offences including criminal Theft.
- A careful examination of the allegations
contained in the FRCN Briefing Note to Mr President, will show that each
of the allegations could easily have been resolved by a simple request for
clarification or more careful review. There is no doubt that if the CBN
had received the Briefing Note, which was prepared in June 2013, all the
misconceptions, misrepresentations and erroneous inferences contained
therein would have been cleared.
- I am publishing these
responses to enable the general public see that each and every allegation
levelled against the CBN under my leadership is false and unfounded, and
that many of the allegations were malicious and fabricated, having been
designed to mislead the President into believing that the Management of
the Central Bank was guilty of misconduct and recklessness.
- Having provided detailed
explanations, backed by verifiable documents, it is my sincere wish that
His Excellency, Mr President, in line with his adherence to fairness and
justice, will apply the same rationale and rigour to other agencies of the
Federal Government that have had serious allegations and queries levied
against them, and prevail upon them to provide responses and explanations
with the same level of clarity and transparency.
- In closing, I would like
to place on record the dogged professionalism and patriotism of the staff
of the CBN. They have, over the years, conducted themselves very
creditably, and discharged their duties with the highest integrity.
* * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Memorandum
Responding to THE FRCN ALLEGATIONS
1. CORPORATE
GOVERNANCE
Briefing Note Allegation 1:that there is weak corporate governance at the CBN
on account of the fact that the office of the Governor is fused with that of
the Chairman of CBN’s Board of Directors.
Response:
i. This allegation ignores the fact that global best practice is that the
Governor of the central bank is the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the
central bank. See Annexure A, which shows the composition of the Board of
Directors of central banks in over 55 different countries.
2. ALLEGED
FRAUDULENT ACTIVITIES
PAYMENTS TO
NSPMP
Briefing Note Allegation 2:that the CBN’s breakdown of “Currency Issue
Expenses” for 2011 and 2012 indicated that it paid the Nigerian Security
Printing and Minting Plc(NSPMP) N38.233 Billion in 2011 for printing of
banknotes, whereas the entire turnover of NSPMP was N 29.370 Billion.
Response:
i. The expense item of N38.233 Billion to NSPMPwas made up as follows:
a. N28.738Billion payment to NSPMP in 2011;
b. N6.587Billion accrued liability in 2011 but paid in 2012 when deliveries
were received; and
c. N2.829Billion audit adjustment journal entry into the account at the end of
2011 in respect of prepayments to NSPMP.
ii. See Annexure B for the evidence of payment to the NSPMP. Evidently, the
difference between the numbers in the financial statements of CBN and NSPMP is
a simple reflection of timing differences between recognition of expenses by
the CBN and income recognition by the NSPMP, with both entities applying conservative
accounting policies.
3. CHARTER FEES
Briefing Note Allegation 3: that the CBN made fictitious payments to (a)
Emirate Airlines: N0.511 Billion which allegedly does not fly local charter in
Nigeria; (b) Wing Airline: N0.425 Billion which allegedly is not registered
with the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA); and (c) Associated Airline:
N1.025 Billion which allegedly did not have a turnover of up to a billion naira
in 2011.
Response:
i. The CBN neither engaged, paid nor claimed to have paid Emirates Airlines.
Rather, the CBN engaged and entered into an Air Charter Services Agreement with
Emirate Touch Aviation Services Limited, which is a local Nigerian charter
service company. A simple enquiry by FRCN would have clarified and avoided this
misrepresentation.
ii. With
respect to Wings Aviation Limited, the CBN contracted Wings Aviation Limited, which
changed its name to Jedidiah Air Limited on 21August 2009 but only notified the
CBN of the change on 28 February 2012.Please, see Annexure C for the letter
from Jedidiah Air Limited notifying the CBN of the change of name. Here also, a
simple enquiry by FRCN would have made this clear.
iii. With
respect to Associated Air Limited, the CBN did in fact pay a total of N1.025
Billion to Associated Airline Limited.See Annexure D for the schedule of
payments made to Associated Airline Limited. It is worth stating that the CBN
is not responsible for how the company reports its turnover.
4. DEPOSIT
FOR SHARES IN BANK OF INDUSTRY (BOI)
Briefing Note Allegation 4: that the CBN is yet to receive the share
certificate for investments made in the Bank of Industry (BoI) since September
2007 and that the leadership of the CBN was not worried about the delay.
Response:
i. On 20 August 2009, shortly after I assumed office, I directed that a
reconciliation exercise be carried out by the CBN on all its investments in
parastatals and companies. Thereafter, the CBN wrote various letters to the
Bank of Industry requesting for its share certificates. See Annexure E for the
letters from the CBN requesting for the certificate.
ii. On 20
September 2009, the BoI wrote to the CBN explaining that the delay in the
issuance of the share certificates was as a result of the BoI seeking a
concession on the payment of stamp duty and other statutory fees from the
Corporate Affairs Commission and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) with
respect to the investment by the CBN and the FMF. See Annexure F for the letter
from the BoI. Also find attached the letter dated 21 February 2013 forwarding
the Share Certificate as Annexure G as well as the certificate for the
Debenture as Annexure H.
iii. It is
evident that as at the time the FRCN Briefing Note was written, the share
certificate and debenture certificate were already in the possession of the
CBN. A simple check by the FRCN would have answered the query.
5. CURRENCY
ISSUE EXPENSES
Briefing Note Allegation 5:that the expenses made by the CBN on account of
currency issues and sundry currency charges for the years 2011 and 2012 were
identical and therefore difficult to understand.
Response:
i. It is incorrect to say that the expenses in 2011 and 2012 were identical.
The sundry currency charges amounted to N1.68 Billion in 2011 and N1.87 Billion
in 2012. This expense related to amounts paid to Travelex under an agreement to
import foreign exchange for licensed BDCs. On the other hand, Currency Issue
Expenses totalled N1.15 Billion in 2011 and N1.28 Billion in 2012, relating to
expenses borne by the different branches and currency centres of the CBN in the
movement and handling of cash.
6.
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT
Briefing Note Allegation 6: that the CBN’s leadership uses this head of expense
(Facilities Management) to capture what ordinarily should have been accounted
for as their benefits-in-kind for tax purposes. It also alleges that this head
of expense is used for ‘fraudulent activities’ based on the inclusion of items
such as “Profit from sale of Diesel”.
Response:
i. The CBN outsources the management and maintenance of its landed properties
across the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT. This involves three service
areas: engineering services, building services and environmental services.
These are operational costs relating principally to head offices, branches,
currency centres and training institutes.
ii. On the
specific allegation of ‘fraudulent activities’, based on profits from the sale
of diesel, it should be noted that the CBN’s Facilities Management Agreements
clearly include the supply of diesel for the operation of generators to power
CBN offices in 51 locations across the 36 States and the FCT. The Diesel is
paid for at pump price, while overhead and profit at 10% is paid to the service
providers. This overhead and profit is presumably what the FRCN erroneously
regarded as “profits from the sale of diesel”. These profits do not go to the
CBN but to the service providers, which is why they are an “expense item”. The
CBN does not operate in any sector of the petroleum industry.
7. FIXED
ASSETS CLEARING ACCOUNT
Briefing Note Allegation 7:that the expenses under the Fixed Assets Clearing
Account comprise properties acquired by the CBN without any expectation to
derive future economic benefits and are written off by the CBN on a yearly
basis.
Response:
i. Fixed Assets Clearing Account is used by the CBN to record the procurement
of fixed assets, physical items and projects-related expenditure for the CBN,
using the IT application Oracle ERP. However, some items, which do not qualify
as fixed assets under the capitalisation policy of the CBN, are sometimes
posted into this account.
ii. The
transactions are periodically reviewed for the purpose of capitalizing those
which qualify under the Capitalization Policy and posting such to the
respective Fixed Asset Account and Fixed Asset Register with tag numbers. All
other assets which do not qualify are expensed through income and expenditure
accounts at the end of the year.
8. OPERATION OF FOREIGN BANK ACCOUNTS
Briefing Note Allegation 8: that foreign bank accounts that were closed down
were still operational in the General Ledger for over six months after the
accounts had been confirmed closed by the offshore banks.
Response:
i. The balances on these accounts simply reflected the fact that the process of
the transfer of gains and losses on them had not been concluded, hence their
existence in the General Ledger. The process of closing the accounts has since
been concluded and the journals evidencing closure are available in the CBN.
9.
UNRECONCILED REAL TIME GROSS SETTLEMENT CLEARING ACCOUNT
Briefing Note Allegation 9:that the Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) Account
had longstanding unreconciled items which could not be substantiated.
Response:
i. These items resulted from epileptic operations of the RTGS system due to
frequent system downtime, which in turn resulted in failure to seamlessly
effect funds transfer. These items have since been reconciled and we have put
in place an upgraded and more robust RTGS system, which would minimise
reoccurrence.
10. MISSING
STOCKPILES OF FOREIGN CURRENCY
Briefing Note Allegation 10:that the external audit revealed debit/credit
balances of sundry foreign currencies without the physical stock of foreign
currencies at the CBN Head Office.
Response:
i. Generally, losses or gains may arise out of the account balances, which in
turn, may be occasioned by exchange rate differentials. In either event, once
crystalized, the net position is then posted to the Foreign Assets Revaluation
Account. As such, as at 20 February 2014, there was no physical stock of currency
missing at the CBN.
11. ALLEGED
WASTEFULNESS
Briefing Note Allegation 11:that the CBN has been wasteful in its expenditure
incurred in the course of 2012.
Response:
i. This allegation is clearly at variance with the reality of the financial
performance of the CBN under my leadership. For example, in the year 2008, just
before I took over office at the CBN, the contribution of the CBN to the
Federation Account was N8Billion. Based on the 2012 annual accounts, our
contribution rose tenfold to N80Billion,while in 2013, our contribution, based
on the audited accounts, was N159Billion.
ii. It is
noteworthy that inthe 5 years of my tenure as CBN Governor (2009 – 2013), the
CBN has contributed N376Billion to the Federal Budget as IGR
(Internally-Generated Revenue). Indeed in 2012, the House of Representatives
Committee on Finance publicly commended the CBN for being the highest
contributor of revenues to the FGN among MDAs - accounting for 75% of the total
IGR contributed by MDAs between 2009 and 2012. The CBN has been able to achieve
this through prudent management of costs, including currency expenses and
overheads. For example, we brought down currency expenses from N50.8 Billion in
2009 to N29.08 Billion in 2012.
iii. It is
worthy noting that the Ministry of Finance has already received its IGR from
the CBN in full, based on our 2013 accounts and the Ministry even requested and
received an advance of N70Billion in anticipation of surplus that is yet to be
earned for 2014. With this level of prudent financial performance, it is
puzzling to imagine the basis for the levied allegation of “Wastefulness”. It
must be underscored that central banks all over the world are not considered as
profit centres. The primary task of the CBN is the attainment of price stability
rather than revenue generation. However, the CBN under my leadership has
strived to deliver on its key mandate, while also maximising revenues for
government.
12.
PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIES
Briefing Note Allegation 12:that the sums expended on promotional efforts of
the CBN in 2012 were too high.
Response:
i. The allegations do not suggest that proper procedure was not complied with
in making the referenced expenditure. The Board of the CBN approved all the
promotional expenses.
ii. In the
year under review, 2012, the CBN initiated several reforms and policies in the
execution of its statutory mandate of promoting a sound financial system in
Nigeria. Some of these policies included:
iii. the
introduction of the Cashless Lagos Initiative and mobile banking;
iv. the Power
and Aviation Intervention Fund (PAIF) campaign, for which the FG took credit.
The PAIF campaign helped to stimulate growth in the power sector and raise
investor confidence generally;
v. the
National Microfinance Development Strategy; and
vi. the Nigerian
Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) and the
Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme (CACS), which supported the FG’s renewed
focus on the development of agriculture as a major income earner for the
country.
vii. Essentially,
what are characterized as ‘promotional’ were actually necessary education,
enlightenment and awareness campaigns and conferences on initiatives which
were, and remain, essential to economic growth, expansion of financial
inclusion and the achievement of the policy objectives of the CBN and the
FG.
13. TRAINING
&TRAVEL EXPENSES
Briefing Note Allegation 3: that CBN’s expenses in relation to training and
travel went up from N7.65 Billion to N9.24 Billion.
Response:
i. In 2012, the Board of the CBN took the strategic decision to invest in the
development and training of CBN staff across all departments. We trained our
staff in the most prudent manner possible and this led to the outstanding
achievements recorded by the CBN during my tenure. We had to send CBN staff to
international finance and regulatory institutions for training; and overseas
training comes at a steep cost.
ii.
Furthermore, in 2012, to match the increased need for bank supervision, CBN
staff strength was increased. This further necessitated orientation and other
training programmes to bring the new entrants up to speed with the CBN policies
and practices.
14. EXPENSES ON ATM OFFSITE POLICY CHANGE
Briefing Note Allegation 14:that expenses on the ATM offsite policy change came
to N1.045 Billion.
Response:
i. Prior to my appointment as the CBN Governor, the CBN had initiated a policy
of increasing accessibility to financial services through the use of ATMs. This
was geared towards ensuring financial inclusion for all Nigerians. To achieve this,
the CBN licensed independent ATM deployers (IADs).
ii. However,
it soon became apparent that these IADs had neither the capital nor the
capacity to roll out ATMs and manage them at a rate consistent with our
cashless Nigeria ambitions, and that a roll-out on the scale envisaged would
require allowing banks to deploy ATMs outside their branches. As a result of
this change in policy, the IADs incurred losses due to prior investments made
based on the previous policy.
iii. It was
therefore in the interest of equity and fairness that the CBN agreed to
negotiate some compensation payable to the IADs after verification of claims of
the IADs by the CBN. The verification process resulted in the CBN paying only
about 40% of the original claims of the IADs.
iv. The
implementation of the policy of increasing accessibility to financial
serviceshas been very successful with immense benefits to the country. It has
led to an increase in ATM penetration and efficiency of the payment system
along with all other benefits associated with this channel.
15. EXPENSES
ON NON-INTEREST BANKING
Briefing Note Allegation 15: that the expenses on Non-Interest Banking went up
from N0.977 Billion in 2011 to N1.359 Billion in 2012 and speculation was made
as to whether this had any relationship with the CBN’s investment in the
International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation (IILMC).
Response:
i. For the record, this expense item is not connected with the investment of
the CBN in the IILMC. As such, there is no basis to make such an assumption.
Rather, the item relates partially to the CBN’s specialised and non-interest
banking policies and includes other expenses of the Financial Policy and
Regulation Department such as (a) consolidated supervision; and (b) Consultancy
fees for the adoption of IFRS & Basel II/III.
16. EXPENSES
ON PRIVATE GUARDS AND POLICEMEN
Briefing
Note Allegation 16:that the CBN’s expenses on Private Guards and Lunch for
Policemen went up from N0.919 Billion in 2011 to N1.257Billion in 2012.
Response:
i. In 2007 (before my tenure), the CBN adopted a policy to outsource non-core
functions, including security services. This decision enabled the Bank to focus
on its statutory mandate and to reduce its overheads. Accordingly, the CBN
retained the services of about thirteen (13) private security companies to
provide access control and security check services. In 2012, the CBN budgeted
N600 Million for security services but spent N582.2 Million on private guards.
See Annexure I (A-B) for the breakdown of the costs incurred in this regard.
ii. To
complement the efforts of private guards, the CBN also requested the services
of security agencies, in light of the increased security challenges, especially
the activities of the Boko Haram terrorist group. These security personnel were
engaged on a daily basis; and were attached to (x) senior CBN officials; (y)
special assignments such as security coverage for currency movements; (z)
static guard duties at the bank’s premises nationwide, and other sundry
engagements. About 2,406 Policemen are currently deployed on a daily basis to
various branches and other locations of the CBN. These security personnel were
paid a daily lunch and transport allowances totallingN675.02 Million in the
year under review.
17. PROJECT
EAGLES
The Briefing Note Allegation 17: that the expenses of the CBN on Project Eagles
went up from N63 Million in 2011 to N606 Million in 2012.
Response:
i. Under Project Eagles, the CBN caters for all expenses incurred in the course
of an internal restructuring of the CBN on the understanding that central
banking, by global standards and best practice measures, is an ever-evolving
enterprise, with constantly changing requirements and frameworks that require
adaptation.
ii. In 2012,
the expenses on Project Eagles included the following internal restructuring
initiatives: Strategy Execution Framework Project, Transformation of the
Procurement and Support Services Department, Transformation of the Finance
Department and the NIPOST PPP Project in collaboration with the Ministry of
Communication for the purpose of using NIPOST locations as outlets for our
Financial Inclusion Strategy.
iii. Project
Eagles was carefully designed, well budgeted for and was approved by the Board.
The objectives are being achieved in light of the improved efficiency of the
CBN.
18.
NEWSPAPERS, BOOKS &PERIODICALS
Briefing Note Allegation 18: that the expenses of the CBN on newspapers, books
and periodicals (excluding CBN’s publications) went up from N1.670Billion in
2011 to N1.678Billion in 2012.
Response:
i. The CBN’s peculiar status as a regulator underscores the need for its staff
to be informed as to every development that has a bearing, however tangential,
on the object and functions of the CBN in the economy. The expenses incurred
were made in subscriptions for, and acquiring, local and foreign journals,
magazines and periodicals for the CBN. These educational and information
material are directly useful for the operations of the CBN. The CBN increased
the number of employees entitled to access to newspapers, Books and
periodicals.
19. LEGAL
&PROFESSIONAL FEES
Briefing Note Allegation 19: that the CBN paid excessive legal and professional
fees of N20.202 Billion in 2011.
Response:
i. The CBN,
like any other public entity, is not immune from liabilities that arise from
judgments and orders of the Nigerian courts. The referenced N20.202Billion
spent under this head covered the CBN’s judgment debt liabilities in the year
under review.
ii. Of
particular reference is the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case of Amao v
the Central Bank of Nigeria, [SC 168/2007]delivered on 21 May, 2010, wherein
the apex Court directed that the CBN pay employees of the Bank who had retired
prior to 2000, pension under the harmonised structure introduced by the FG.
Note that the negotiated litigation liability that arose from the
above-specified matter was approximately N19.8Billion. SeeAnnexure J for the
judgment of the Supreme Court in question.
20. REDUCED
EXPENSES ON ETHICS &ANTI-CORRUPTION
Briefing Note Allegation 20: that the CBN, under my watch, reduced its
expenditure on Ethics and Anti-corruption and this reduction is purportedly an
instance of ‘financial recklessness and wastefulness’.
Response:
i. In response to the need to improve ethical and best practice standards in
its operations to bring it at par with international standards and the code of
conduct requirements, the CBN expended N34Million in 2011 to develop the Code
of Business Ethics and Compliance (COBEC) as well as the Code of Conduct for
staff, the implementation of which spilled over into 2012. This explains why
the expenditure dropped from N34 Million to N18 Million.
21.
AUDITOR’S FEES
Briefing Note Allegation 21: that the CBN paid an additional N140 Million over
and above the agreed fees for the exte.
Response:
i. The 2012 financial statements of the CBN stated that the amount paid to the
two firms of external auditors for the 2012 financial year was N200Million. The
subsequent graduating revision of the fee was to the sum of N230Million
effective from 2013.
ii. The
N140Million purportedly paid to the external auditors as “additional fees”, was
paid as reimbursement of the expenses incurred by these firms in the execution
of their mandate as external auditors of the Bank for previous audit exercises.
See Annexure K for evidence of payments made to the auditors. Payment of
reimbursables is a standard contractual practice when dealing with professional
service firms.
22. ALLEGED
ABUSE OF DUE PROCESS
THE MOU FOR THE BANKING SECTOR RESOLUTION COST SINKING FUND
Briefing Note Allegation 22: that the CBN issued treasury bills using the money
in the Banking Resolution Costs Sinking fund (Sinking Fund) without the
constitution and approval of the Board of Trustees as required under the MOU
signed by the CBN and all the deposit money banks operating in Nigeria.
Response:
i. The contributors to the Sinking Fund are the CBN and all deposit money banks
in the country. All the parties agreed at Bankers Committee that the monies
contributed should be invested in treasury bills for safety. The CBN, as
custodian, simply implemented that agreement. The board of trustees for Sinking
Fund has not been constituted as the legal framework for the Sinking Fund i.e.
the Banking Sector Resolution Cost Fund Bill is still pending before the
National Assembly.
ii. It
should be noted that AMCON redeemed its due bonds on 27 December, 2013 from
this account.
23. WRITE
OFF OF N3.85 BILLION LOAN
Briefing Note Allegation 23: that the leadership of the CBN wrote-off loans
supposedly made to staff members to the tune of N3.85 Billion in 2012.
Response:
i. The write-off above was not made in favour of CBN staff. Rather the
Board of the CBN approved the write-off of the loan as forbearance to Heritage
Bank on 17 December, 2010 as part of the process of facilitating its resumption
of business as a regional bank. See Annexure L for the board approval given on
17 December 2010.
24.
OVERDRAWNACCOUNTS BY MINISTRIES, DEPARTMENTS &PARASTATALS
Briefing Note Allegation 24: that the deposit accounts of parastatals have
debit and overdrawn positions and that this is contrary to government policy.
Response:
i. MDAs generally maintain bank accounts with the CBN. Overdrawing of banks
accounts is an incidence of banker–customer relationship. However, the CBN
experienced some technical problems prior to mid-2012, which affected about 6
of the over 1000 bank accounts maintained by MDAs at the CBN, but the error has
been rectified since the middle of 2012. There were some insignificant
over drawings on about six (6) of the accounts and the attention of the Office
of the Accountant-General of the Federation has been drawn to the matter. See
Annexure Mfor the letter to the Accountant-General and the Accountant-General’s
response ofJanuary 29th, 2014.
25.
INVESTMENT IN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC LIQUIDITY MANAGEMENT CORPORATION (IILMC)
Briefing Note Allegation 25:that the investment in the IILMC was not brought to
the attention of His Excellency, Mr President, and was not within the exception
in Section 31 of the CBN Act.
Response:
i. Nigeria, through the CBN, is signatory to the establishment agreement of the
IILMC. Before proceeding with the investment, I requested for and obtained the
written approval of His Excellency, Mr President, via a letter dated 8
December, 2010. His Excellency, Mr President would recall that he approved this
request on 22.12.10. See Annexure N.
ii. The
investment in question is permitted by Section 24 of the CBN Act, in pursuance
of which it was made as investment of Reserves by the Reserve Management
Department of the CBN. If at any point, the CBN wishes to divest from the
IILMC, one or more of the member central banks will purchase this investment.
iii. It is
worthy of note that in the letter seeking Mr President’s approval for the
investment, it was stated explicitly that all the member central banks were
treating their investment as part of their external reserves.
iv. It was
also alleged that, till the date of the issuance of the Briefing Note (7th
June, 2013), the CBN had not received its share certificate for the apex Bank’s
investment in the IILMC. However, the said share certificate, dated 6th April,
2013, has indeed been received and is hereby annexed as Annexure O.
26.
NON-ADOPTION OF IFRS STANDARDS
Briefing Note Allegation 26: that the CBN did not comply with the IFRS
accounting standards in preparing its 2012 financial statements.
Response:
i. It has been and remains a cardinal policy of the CBN to comply with
statutory requirements and policy guidelines of regulators. In recognition of
the peculiar nature of the CBN as a central bank and its peculiar
responsibilities, its migration to the IFRS would require extended time to
comply with the Act.
ii. In view of this reality, I wrote the FRCN via a letter dated
14thFebruary 2013, requesting for a temporary exemption to allow the CBN
prepare the 2012 financial statements based on the existing financial reporting
framework.
iii. The FRCN waived the requirement for the CBN to comply with the IFRS
standards in preparing its 2012 financial statements by its letter of exemption
dated 26 February 2013. See Annexure P for the FRCN’s letter.
iv. In January 2010, the published Report of the Committee on the Roadmap
for the adoption of IFRS in Nigeria (the Roadmap), allowed Public Interest
Entities, in the nature of CBN, to delay the adoption of the IFRS financial
statements until 31 December 2013. See Annexure Q for the Roadmap. It is
probably for the same reason the FRCN itself did not prepare its audited
financial statements in accordance with IFRS for the year ended 2012.
v. It is worth noting that very few Central Banks in the world are able to
comply with IFRS due to a number of factors peculiar to the nature of central
banking, especially in the following areas:
a. Accounting for Change in the value of Gold reserves.
b. Management of government foreign exchange reserves and exchange rate fluctuations.
c. Disclosure challenges around monetary policy interventions and its
activities as lender of last resort to financial institutions, and guarantor to
government borrowing.
d. Valuation of assets held in foreign currencies.
e. Challenges around weekly Treasury Bill sales.
f. Management of years of deficit after surplus has been transferred to the
government in the year of surplus.
g. Funding government deficit financing as enshrined in section 38 of the
CBN Act 2007.
27. NON-COMPLIANCE WITH ITF ACT
Briefing Note Allegation 27: that the CBN failed to comply with the ITF Act by
not paying the mandatory one per centum of the amount of its annual payroll to
the ITF.
Response:
i. The CBN, at the time, contested in court its obligation to pay one per centum
of its payroll to the ITF on the ground that the CBN is not engaged in commerce
or industry, which under the ITF Act is the basis for an employer to make
payments under the ITF Act.
ii. However, upon further considerations, the matter was amicably settled by
the CBN and ITF. The CBN has duly complied with the ITF Act and has paid all
levies up to the 2012 financial year. See Annexure R, which bears this out.
28. AUDITING
Briefing Note Allegation 28: that the joint auditors of the CBN’s financial
statement did not certify that the accounts give a true and fair view of the
financial position of the CBN as at 31 December 2012.
Response:
i. Without any iota of evidential proof, and in a most sweeping statement, the
FRCN Briefing Note alleged that the joint auditors’ opinion was a technical
qualification; that the accounts should not be relied upon for decision-making.
ii. To set the records straight, auditors do not certify accounts but only
express opinions on the financial statements.
iii. The joint auditors stated that the CBN’s 2012 financial statements were
properly prepared and accorded with accounting policies and the provisions of
the CBN Act 2007 and other applicable regulations.
iv. The opinion, as expressed by our auditors, is consistent with what obtains
in respect of central banks in a number of other jurisdictions. We enclose by
way of example, a sample of opinions relating to the central banks of the
United States of America, South Africa and Ghana. See Annexure S. The
allegation made by the FRCN in relation to this aspect of the auditors’ report
is troubling when viewed in this light.
29. NON-CONSOLIDATION OF ACCOUNTS WITH SUBSIDIARIES
Briefing Note Allegation 29: that the CBN did not consolidate its account with
those of its subsidiaries.
Response:
i. The CBN does not have subsidiaries and the assumption that AMCON is a
subsidiary of the CBN is wrong. The shares in AMCON are held by the Federal
Government as borne out by Section 2 of the AMCON Act. Furthermore, the
accounting reporting period of the CBN is statutory and does not coincide with
that of AMCON.
30. ABRIDGEMENT OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Briefing Note Allegation 30:that the financial statement was highly abridged,
with poor disclosures of transactions and events of a financial nature.
Response:
ii. The financial statement cannot by any stretch of the imagination be
described as “highly abridged”. Rather, all transactions in the financial
statement were substantiated and were prepared in line with the CBN’s framework
with all relevant notes, schedules and disclosures copiously made for clarity.
31. NON- CHALLANCE AND AMCON’S OPERATIONS
Briefing Note Allegation 31: that AMCON made a loss (after taxation) of N
2,439,701,422,000 (over N 2.4 Trillion) and also had a negative total equity
ofN2,345,620,364,000 (over N 2.3 Trillion) at the end of 2011. The FRCN alleges
that I should have brought it to the attention of His Excellency, Mr President,
that a large portion of the AMCON bonds would be due for redemption by 31
December 2013 and that the inability of the Federal Government to fulfil the
guarantee may affect the credit rating of Nigeria negatively. In other words,
the CBN breached its statutory objects under Section 2(e) of the CBN Act by not
drawing His Excellency’s attention to the matter.
Response:
i. A major achievement of the Central Bank was that the AMCON bonds in question
that matured at the end of 2013 were successfully redeemed without any
budgetary appropriation or call on the Federal Government to guarantee the
repayment as referenced above.
ii. It must be emphasized that AMCON bonds are not instruments issued by the
CBN. On that score, it would be most inappropriate and against every known
principle of standard accounting convention for the CBN to incorporate full
disclosures on the maturity profile of AMCON’s bonds in its audited financial
statements (balance sheet and notes).
iii. Rather, in accordance with international best practice, the CBN is only
required to disclose in its accounts, the portion of the bonds held by it (the CBN).
To this extent, the CBN made appropriate disclosures in the financial
statements on the bonds it held as at 31 December 2012. See Annexure T – which
is note 6 to the CBN’s 2012 financial statements showing the amount CBN has
invested in AMCON bonds.
32. NON-APPROVAL OF 2012 FINANCIAL STATEMENT BY CBN BOARD
Briefing Note Allegation 32:that the date of the Board’s approval of the
financial statements was not indicated or disclosed and accordingly, the
response provided to the President’s request for clarifications indicated that
the management letter on the financial statements was yet to be discussed by
the Board Audit and Risk Management Committee.
Response:
i. The financial statements were presented to the board and approved on 26
February 2013. The date of approval was stated clearly on the balance sheet
page behind the signature of each of the directors. (See Annexure U for a board
approval dated 26 February 2013 approving financial statements).Issues of a
material nature requiring adjustments had been fully incorporated into the
Financial Statement prior to presentation to the Board.
ii. The items in the Management Letter were suggestions for improvement made
by external auditors and these were subsequently considered by the Board Audit
and Risk Management Committee and are being implemented by Management on an
on-going basis.
33. COMPLIANCE WITH THE PPA
Briefing Note Allegation 33:non-compliance with the provisions of the Public
Procurement Act (PPA).
Response:
i. The only issue that has been raised to the knowledge of the CBN, is that the
CBN,over a period in the past, did not obtain ‘Certificate of No Objection’
from the BPP before awarding contracts.
ii. On 11 August 2008 (before my tenure), the CBN wrote to His Excellency, President
Yar’adua, requesting for certain exemptions in CBN’s procurement process. See
Annexure V. On 20 August 2008, the President gave his approval to the CBN’s
application. See Annexure W.
iii. In line with this approval, the CBN continued to approve its contracts
in full compliance with the Public Procurement Guidelines, with the only
exception that it did not apply for a ‘Certificate of No Objection’ based on
the Presidential waiver.
iv. It should be noted that the CBN’s own procurement process is more or
less identical to the procurement process under the Public Procurement
Act(PPA). Indeed, the BPP has had occasion to write in the past commending the
CBN’s commitment to transparency and making recommendations for further
improving the process. See Annexure X.
v. In the course of the CBN interaction with the BPP on this subject, we
provided an explanation by way by a letter of 11 August 2013, informing the BPP
of the Presidential waiver. After an exchange of correspondences between the
CBN and the BPP on this issue, the BPP disagreed that the Presidential waiver
constituted an exemption from the requirement to obtain a Certificate of No
Objection and insisted that the CBN should start doing so.
vi. The CBN, out of an abundance of caution, immediately began to obtain
Certificates of No Objection in respect of subsequent procurements within the
stipulated threshold. In this regard, the CBN did obtain Certificates of No
Objection dated 17 December 2013, 31 December 2013 and 14 February 2014. See
Annexure Y [A-D] for these.It is important to note that the contracts for which
these Certificate of No Objections were issued were approved based on the same
process that apply to all the other contracts approved by the Bank. This, in
itself, is testimony that the Bank has always complied with the provisions of
the Act.
vii. It is also important to note that in October 2013, the BPP-appointed
consultant (Messrs Sada Idris & Co) also gave the CBN a good bill of health
after reviewing the bank’s procurement processes for 2010and2011.See Annexure
Z. In its final report, the consultant in fact mentioned that the CBN
satisfactorily complied with the provisions of the PPA.
viii. Furthermore, the CBN has facilitated compliance with the provisions of
the PPA by making it a requirement for entities seeking to access the CBN
Intervention Projects Fund, to comply with the PPA and to obtain a Certificate
of No Objection to Contract Award, where required. See Annexure AA for the BPP
Letter of No Objection of 12 October 2010in relation to procurements by the
Nigeria Police Force.
34. UNLAWFUL EXPENDITURE ON CBN INTERVENTION PROJECTS
Briefing Note Allegation 34: that CBN Interventions in areas like Education, Community,
etc. are unlawful.
Response:
i. A principal focus of the CBN Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy in
the last decade (even before my tenure) has been the Educational sector in
Nigeria. The CBN Act lists its objects, functions and prohibited
activities, and the Board is empowered to approve the budget and formulate policies
of the CBN. The Intervention Projects mentioned are CSR interventions that
fully comply with the CBN Act and were duly approved by the Board.
ii. It is worth noting that the CSR policy of the CBN is consistent with the
activities of many other central banks of developing countries including, Bank
Negara Malaysia, the Bank of Namibia, the Bank of Botswana and the Bank of
Indonesia.
iii. The Federal Government of Nigeria has been aware, supported and
encouraged the CBN intervention projects, in recognition of their positive
contribution to development.
iv. During the recent strike by the Academic Staff Union of
Universities(ASUU), the CBN intervention projects in universities were an
important fulcrum in the settlement negotiations between the FG and ASUU as
borne out in the Memorandum of Understanding between the FG and ASUU, where the
Intervention Projects were recognised as part of the contributions of the FG to
Education in tertiary institutions.
v. Furthermore, the FG standing committee on the Implementation of Needs
Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities requested that the CBN channel a
portion of its annual budget to the identified projects. See Annexure BB- The Interim
Report of the Technical Sub-committee of the Committee on the Implementation on
Needs Assessment of Nigerian Public Universities.
vi. A major aspect of the CBN intervention projects is the Centre for
Excellence, which are not merely physical structures. The CBN entered into
Memoranda of Understanding with partner Universities to develop a holistic and
multi-faceted scheme which includes the establishment of Centres for Excellence
under which the CBN would, in the principal areas of Economics and Finance,
fund the endowment of Professorial Chairs, create access for Nigerian students
to participate in virtual and remote learning with foreign tertiary
institutions like Harvard, Princeton, Oxford Universities, and special programs
for students of Business and Economics. In this regard, the CBN is in the
process of establishing Centres for Excellence across the geo-political zones
of the country including:
• Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria
• University of Nigeria, Enugu
• University of Ibadan, Ibadan
• Nigeria Defense Academy, Kaduna
• University of Lagos, Lagos
• University of Maiduguri, Borno
• University of Port Harcourt, Rivers
• University of Jos, Plateau
• Bayero University, Kano
vii. Consistent with our policy of development, upon the instruction of His
Excellency, the President, the CBN intervened by paying N19.7 Billion to the
Ministry of Police Affairs for the purchase of armoured helicopters and other
security equipment.
viii. Also, upon the application of the Secretary to the Government of the
Federation, the CBN paid N2.1 Billion for the automation and renovation of the
Federal Executive Council Chamber. See Annexure CC.
ix. The CBN also initiated, with His Excellency, the President’s approval,
the construction of the International Conference Centre for Nigeria. See
Annexure DD.
x. His Excellency, the President, also requested that the CBN pay N3.2
Billion for the construction of a new counter terrorism centre for the office
of the National Security Adviser.See Annexure EE.
xi. The FRCN itself is a beneficiary of the CBN’s intervention policy as the
CBN paid the sum of N220 Million to the FRCN and also organised the banking
sector, through the Banker’s Committee, to payN280 Million, totalling a sum of
N500 Million, for the construction of the IFRS Academy. See Annexure FF.
xii. All of these requests were duly submitted to the CBN Board of Directors
and were duly approved.
xiii. It is also important to emphasise that the grants under the Intervention
Program were duly budgeted for, and made on a limited and selected basis.
xiv. Intervention in National Security: At the height of security
uncertainties in Nigeria, the Ministry of Police Affairs petitioned His
Excellency, the President, for access to the CBN Intervention Fund. His
Excellency approved that this be done in his letter of 6 October 2010
referenced MPA/PSD/S/0243. See Annexure GG. The CBN Board of Directors then
reviewed and approved this request. See Annexure HH for the issuance of a grant
by the CBN from the Intervention Fund to the Nigerian Police Force, for the
procurement of:
• Armoured Helicopters,
• Armoured Patrol Vans,
• Anti-Riot Equipment;
• Hand held Communication Equipment.
35. AKINGBOLA PETITION &THE N40 BILLION LOAN WAIVER
Allegation 35: attached to the my letter of suspension was a petition
written by the former Managing Director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank
Plc (ICB now Access Bank Plc)- Erastus Akingbola (Mr Akingbola), on an alleged
waiver of a N40 Billion loan to a Nigerian bank.
Response:
Before responding to the allegation, it should be stated that the said Mr Akingbola
is a man found by a final judgment of the Courts in England to have been liable
for financial improprieties in the management of the affairs of ICB.
i. In his self-serving petition, Mr Akingbola alleged that the CBN, on my
watch, wrote-off a loan in favour of Dr. Bukola Saraki. This is untrue.
ii. The CBN was at no time involved in the decision of ICB (or any other
bank for that matter) to write-off its loans. The CBN never gave prior approval
to the Management and Board of ICB to write-off any particular loan. It
is important to state up-front that all the non executive directors on the
Board of ICB were appointed by its shareholders while Akingbola was CEO and
they were the majority on the Board that approved the write-offs.
iii. From the submissions of ICB to the CBN, the said loan write-off,
involved over 1000 customers accounts, totalling N49.07 billion – including
accounts held by companies related to Dr. Bukola Saraki.
iv. It is well known that decisions on loan write-offs in the process of
recovering non-performing loans are taken by the management and board of banks
in line with their internal credit policies. The outstanding amounts are then
written off the books of banks after receiving approval of the CBN. ICB therefore
only approached the CBN, after it has completed all its negotiations and
agreements with its customers, to seek CBN ‘ No Objection’ approval to
write-off the loans. Indeed, after a careful review of the submission by ICB,
the CBN initially raised objections to the justifications provided for the
write-off of the debts on the accounts related to Dr. Bukola Saraki. See
Annexure II.
v. In response to these objections, the Management of ICB wrote explaining
the rationale for the Board decision. (This is also contained in Annexure II).
It is important to note that decisions on loan write-offs involve significant
exercise of judgement by those involved. Usually a number of factors come
into play including whether or not the loan is secured, the value of collateral
and if the bank is in a legal position to realise same, the general liquidity
in the secondary market and the liquidity position of the bank itself which
determines if it is negotiating from a position of strength or weakness.
Ultimately, while we may debate these issues, the judgement has to be exercised
by those actually managing the bank in the best interest of shareholders and
the responsibility lies with them.
vi. In the case of ICB it is well known that the bank was in a grave
situation as a result of years of mismanagement by Akingbola. The loans in
question were largely loans secured by shares in the capital market and
therefore were vulnerable to what is called Market risk. The collapse of the
Nigerian capital market following the Global Financial Crisis in 2008 meant
that the collateral for these loans had been totally wiped out. The losses
suffered by the bank were therefore a result of very bad credit decisions taken
by Mr. Akingbola himself which led to the bank taking on huge amounts of risk that
crystallised. In this situation all that was left for Management was to
minimise its losses and recover as much as it could before the situation got
worse.
vii. With specific reference to the ICB loans to companies related to Dr
Saraki, the bank’s Management explained that there were four loans totalling
N9.489 billion, of which three were margin loans secured by shares and the
fourth was secured by real estate. The value of the collateral underlying the
Margin loans had been eroded and the bank was compelled to give waivers to make
some recovery while still retaining the shares for sale at a future date.
It should also be added that the real estate used to secure the non-margin loan
were not perfected by the management under Mr. Akingbola – which is another
indication of bad credit policies under Mr. Akingbola.
viii. There was no waiver granted to Dr Saraki on the fourth loan as it was
paid in full (plus accumulated interest). Of the N9.4 billion, a total of N4.04
billion was repaid, representing a waiver of 57.42 %. Losses on Margin loans
were common at this time in the entire industry. To illustrate this, when AMCON
purchased margin loans from Intervened banks on December 30, 2010 it offered a
premium of 60% above the average price of the shares in the preceding 60 days.
In spite of these generous terms AMCON paid an average of only 24.27% of the
value of margin loans purchased. Without the premium AMCON would have purchased
the loans at 15.17% of their book value. This actually would suggest that the
Management of ICB did get a reasonably fair deal for the bank in these
circumstances. The best construction we can place on Mr Akingbola’s petition is
that he is complaining that the Management that succeeded him could have done a
better job of cleaning up the mess he created and left behind.
ix. As for Akingbola’s allegation of fraud, conspiracy, forgery and stealing
against Dr. Saraki in connection with Joy Petroleum Ltd, the Central Bank was
in the process of collaborating with law enforcement agents involved in the
investigations when we received a copy of a letter written by the Honourable
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice declaring that these allegations were
unfounded and there was no basis in law for any criminal investigation in
respect thereof. See Annexure HH. The Central Bank therefore cannot be held in
any manner responsible for this decision as this was a position taken by the
nation’s chief law officer.
36. CONCLUSION
i. It is now clear that each of the allegations made by the FRCN in the
Briefing Note could easily have been resolved upon a simple request to the CBN
for clarification or a little more careful review. There is no doubt that if
the CBN had received the Briefing Note, which was prepared in June 2013, all
the misconceptions, misrepresentations and erroneous inferences contained
therein would have been cleared, and the misleading of His Excellency would
have been avoided.
ii. It is now my sincere hope that, having painstakingly provided detailed
explanations, backed by verifiable documents, His Excellency, Mr President will
find the response satisfactory, and in line with his adherence to fairness and
justice, revisit and redress the issue of my suspension.
iii. Furthermore, it is my wish that His Excellency, Mr President, will apply
the same rationale and rigour to other agencies of the Federal Government that
have had serious allegations and queries levied against them, and presume upon
them to provide responses and explanations with the same level of clarity and
transparency.
iv. In closing, I would like to place on record the dogged professionalism
and patriotism of the staff of the CBN. They have, over the years, served this
country creditably, loyally and diligently.
I hereby restate my enduring passion for, and commitment to, our great
country Nigeria.
Signed:
SANUSI LAMIDO SANUSI, CON
GOVERNOR, CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA
