The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said Thursday\u2019s suspension of
\nMalam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria
\n(CBN) by President Goodluck Jonathan is patently illegal, poorly
\nthought-out and in bad taste, noting that it will definitely have negative
\nconsequences for the nation\u2019s economy.
\nIn a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its Interim National
\nPublicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party also said the action
\nis the clearest indication yet that President Jonathan, whose body
\nlanguage does not abhor corruption, is willing to silence any
\nwhistle-blower, no matter his or her status.<\/p>\n
\u201dAs the country wallows in unprecedented corruption under the rudderless
\nand corruption-hugging Jonathan Administration, the President may have
\nfinally decided to send a strong signal to all Nigerians that it will not
\ntolerate any exposure of corruption under any circumstance. What better
\nway to do this than to silence the man who has exposed the alleged missing
\n20 billion dollars in the NNPC accounts?\u201d it queried.
\nAPC said that Sanusi\u2019s suspension has also shown clearly that President
\nJonathan as a leader does not care if he destroys national I nstitutions
\non the altar of personal ego and political expediency.
\n\u201dFirst it was the judiciary which came under his sledge hammer, when he
\nsuspended then President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, just
\nto satisfy the hawks in his party. Then it is the turn of the National
\nAssembly, the Police and now the financial sector. President Jonathan
\nshould not destroy our institutions before he bows out of office next
\nyear. These institutions are older than him and will definitely outlive
\nhim,\u201d APC warned.
\nThe party said while Section 11 (f) of the CBN Act 2007 empowers the
\nPresident to remove the CBN Governor, the section is clear that he can
\nonly do so if he has the support of two-thirds majority of the Senate.
\n\u201dNowhere in the Act is it said that the President can suspend the CBN
\nGovernor, as he has done in another of his serial rape of the country\u2019s
\nlaws,\u201d it said, adding that the reasons given by the presidency for
\nSanusi\u2019s suspension are as puerile as they are unprecedented, and amount
\nto calling the dog a bad name just to hang it.
\nThe party said the questions that arise, based on those ridiculous
\nreasons, are: \u201dWhy has it taken almost five years of Sanusi\u2019s tenure for
\nthe President to realize the irregularities of CBN under Sanusi?
\nWhy is the President acting on questionable allegations against Sanusi at
\na time the CBN Governor has opened the can of worms in the NNPC? Why has a
\nPresident, who has always treated glaring corruption allegations against
\nhis political appointees with so much levity, now so quick to move against
\na CBN Governor who has never been accused, let alone indicted of
\ncorruption?
\nAPC expressed serious concerns at the implication of Sanusi\u2019s suspension
\nfor the nation\u2019s economy, especially on the value of the Naira; local and
\ninternational investments; the stock market; inflation and the overall
\nhealth of the economy.
\n\u201dComing at a time when the economy was already under pressure due to
\ninternal and external factors and is in need of significant investments in
\nseveral sectors, such as power and manufacturing to maintain its economic
\ngrowth rates, the uncertainty caused by the suspension will leave both
\nlocal and international investors questioning the economic direction of
\nthe country and therefore their
\ninvestment approach to Nigeria.
\n\u201dAt best, new investments will be delayed until investors consider that
\neconomic and political stability has been restored, and at worst, which is
\nmore likely, both new and existing investors will pull back.
\n\u201dThe Nigerian Stock Exchange that was already witnessing a withdrawal of
\nportfolio investors, due to the US tapering exercise, is likely to be
\nexacerbated as more investors, local and international, exit the market,
\nfurther putting downward pressure on the country\u2019s exchange rate at a time
\nthe CBN is already having difficulty defending the currency. In fact, the
\ndevaluation of the national currency looms.
\n\u201dAll these factors will also drive higher inflation rates with its
\nattendant economic, social and political costs. No one can say for certain
\nexactly how costly this action will be for the nation but there are no
\ndoubts it will be high,\u201d the party said.
\nIt called on Nigerians to stay strong in their determination to fight the
\ncanker worm of corruption, even as the government of the day makes clear
\nit will not hesitate to punish whistle-blowers and reward corrupt persons.
\n\u201dIf anyone in this country is still doubting that the Jonathan
\nadministration lacks the wherewithal to fight corruption, operate under
\nthe rule of law and take Nigeria to greater heights, that person should
\nnow clear the doubt. This administration has clearly reached the end of
\nits tethers and should be voted out next year to pave the
\nway for a party that is willing and able to rescue Nigeria,\u201d APC said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said Thursday\u2019s suspension of Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by President Goodluck Jonathan is patently illegal,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":23104,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n