Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Lamido Sanusi, has reacted to his suspension by President Goodluck Jonathan, vowing to head for court to challenge his suspension.<\/p>\n
Sanusi, who spoke on CNBC Africa few hours after his suspension on Thursday, said challenging his removal in court was not to ensure that he returned to the office but to preserve the integrity and independence of the apex financial institution.
\nHe equally dismissed the sundry allegations made against his leadership at the CBN, saying the allegations were not new. Sanusi described his suspension as political, wondering why the Presidency had waited for this long to remove him from office.<\/p>\n
\u00a0Below is the full text of the interview<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n On whether he was on notice with respect to his suspension<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Well, I have been told by my office that a letter was received. As you know, I flew in this morning to Niamey along with other Governors of West African Central Banks to meet with the President of Niger and President of Ghana\u2026Fortunately, I came in with my VP Sarah Alade whom I have been asked to hand over to. I have left the meeting to hand over to her. I have just met the Nigerian Ambassador to Niger who confirmed to me that the President asked him to inform me of the decision.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On accusations of \u201cvarious acts of financial misconduct and recklessness\u201d he said<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n I don\u2019t know what they are talking about. When I come back, I will see what those allegations are\u2026I don\u2019t think there is any issue raised that has not been raised before. We all know what this is about. This is about consequences for decisions I have taken\u2026 This is something that is long overdue. I am surprised it took them so long.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On concerns for the market<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Basically, my concern is for the safety of the market\u2026I have had a wonderful time in service to my country. I would not want to see all of my work unraveled. No individual is worth it.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n On whether his suspension is politically motivated<\/strong>:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It is not for me to comment. I am not sure that erm\u2026 I think the answer to that is obvious\u2026there is a legal question of whether the president has the authority to suspend the Governor and whether suspension is not removal. It will be helpful to establish the principles by court.<\/p>\n Even if I challenge it, I will not go back to the job. Even if I challenge it successfully, I will not go back to it. I think it will be in the interest of the institution for the courts to establish once and for all if the president has the powers to do this\u2026 If it is not challenged, the next Central Bank Governor cannot be independent with fear of being suspended by a politician. I do plan to have the courts confirm if indeed that authority exists and I will challenge it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On his legacy<\/strong>:<\/p>\n He pointed out Low inflation. Stable exchange rate. Reformed and well governed banking system, robust reserve, independent central bank, financial inclusion, systems reform\u2026history will record this, nothing is going to change that. You can suspend an individual, you can\u2019t suspend the truth. And this is all about these concerns around oil revenues, around decadence in the oil sector and if this is going to bring about the $20 billion then that\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What message will this send to the international investors?<\/b><\/p>\n The person taking over from me is a very good and competent person. I think she is a very competent person, I have every confidence in her, I am very happy for her. Like I said I have no regrets, no ill feelings. I am happy and proud of what I have done.<\/p>\n The deputy governors are there. The banks MDs are there. I\u2019m sure the system will continue. The system is bigger than one individual. You know Nigeria as a country is very important to me. It has never been my desire to hold unto a job. No. but I think it is important to establish the point legally whether this can happen because if it is not established then, the very next Central Bank governor can be suspended for any reason and the independence of the CBN can be totally undermined. If the governor cannot be removed, it should be established in the case.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Lamido Sanusi, has reacted to his suspension by President Goodluck Jonathan, vowing to head for court to challenge his suspension. Sanusi, who spoke on CNBC…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23064,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23063","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n