Re: Is Sanusi a patriot or villain?

I wish to react to an aspect of the backpage column in The PUNCH of  3rd  March 2014 titled, “Is Sanusi a patriot or villain?.

It would be necessary to present events as they happened, supported with facts lest the article in the widely read column is seen as “calling a dog a bad name to hang it”. This is because of the columnist’s well known strong views about the suspended CBN Governor and the CBN during his tenure.

The section of your said article read thus: “The FRC APPARENTLY submitted its findings to the Presidency by April 2013; i.e five months before Sanusi raised the grossly exaggerated claims of unremitted $49.8b in his letter of September 25, 2013. Sanusi CONFIRMED receiving a copy of the report of financial recklessness in the CBN as far back as June 2013. However, he ADMITTED only last week, in an interview with a national newspaper, that he did not respond to the allegations BECAUSE HE WAS NOT FORMALLY ASKED TO DO SO, until he received his letter of suspension from office in February 2014” Emphasis mine.

The impression this creates is that the FRC report AS CURRENTLY CIRCULATING IN THE PUBLIC was submitted to the Presidency in April 2013, received by the CBN in June 2013 and Sanusi simply ignored the report in spite of the weighty allegations! This paints a picture of a very irresponsible and carefree public officer. From other publicly available information about the events surrounding the FRC report, this is not correct!

The “national newspaper” report of an interview, which is a reported speech cannot be as authentic as the direct speech during the television interview granted by the suspended Governor to Channels Television on the day he was suspended. http://www.bellanaija.com/2014/02/24/i-dont-need-to-prove-anything-watch-lamido-sanusis-tell-all-interview-with-channels-tv/. In the interview, he said around May 2013, the FRC raised some observations about the CBN’s audited accounts for 2012 based on their role as regulators of auditors, and the CBN Auditors responded.  Subsequently, the President sent a query to him on the basis of the audited accounts which he had earlier sent to the Presidency, essentially raising the same issues canvassed by FRC to the auditors (almost a copy) and he RESPONDED to the President.

But that sometime in June 2013, he WROTE to the President requesting if there were any allegations against the CBN or issues that the President would like the CBN to clarify as the CBN would be happy to provide explanations. According to him, there was no response from the President since then and he learnt of the currently circulating FRC report and its content for the first time on the day he was suspended on 20th February, 2014. I will not comment on the other activities relating to the oil industry which happened within the period but rather stick to the FRC matter which was the basis of his suspension.

It should be noted that the query from the President which had 22 issues is DIFFERENT from the widely circulated FRC report which is a follow-up to Sanusi’s point-by-point response to the 22 issues raised by the President. The President’s query dated 4th May 2013 and Sanusi’s response dated 20th May 2013 have also become public! http://media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2014/02/RE-CBN-AUDITED-FINANCIAL-STATEMENTS-YEAR-ENDED-2012.pdf.

Another small point is that the FRC did not “apparently” submit its findings to the Presidency in April 2013 as the writer stated but from the date of the FRC report (7th June 2013) and the first paragraph of the report, the FRC got a directive from the President in April 2013 BEFORE the President’s query of 4th May 2013. Also from the first paragraph of the FRC report, it is obvious that the report was a review of Sanusi’s 20th May 2013 response even though he did not get the benefit of giving further specific point by point response or clarification before he was suspended and the report made public!

He now has the opportunity to give this response either in the court of public opinion or given the circumstance, in the court of law. Nonetheless, it is instructive to note that some of the issues raised in the FRC report which have been made public belong to one or more of the following categories:

1. Fresh and/or require further clarification (in which case Sanusi could not have addressed them in his original response to the President’s 22 issues),

2. Silent without acknowledging initial explanations given, while still alluding to the same issue

3. Non-satisfaction with initial explanations thus adjudging Sanusi and his CBN culpable.

Examples in each category are:

1(a) Investment in International  Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation of Malaysia without bringing it to the President’s attention or providing the President with CBN Board approval. This allegation was not mentioned AT ALL in the 22 issues raised by the President, and Sanusi had mentioned during the Channels interview that he got the written approval of the President to make this investment!

(1b)Payment of N38.23bn in 2011 to Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc for “printing of bank notes” whereas the entire turnover of NSPM Plc was N29.37bn. This was also not mentioned AT ALL in the President’s query but the suspended Governor in the Channels Television interview indicated that NSPM Plc is not the only supplier of currency because it doesn’t have the capacity and as such, CBN also buys currency from a couple of other international currency printers such as Delarue, etc. It is obvious that the total payment for printing of bank notes by the CBN would be higher than the turnover of NSPM Plc. Further detailed explanation is contained in http://omojuwa.com/2014/03/sanusi-nspmc-payments-and-non-certification-of-the-2012-cbn-audited-accounts-bob-jason/

(1c) Intervention projects and activities carried out were not within the principal objects of the CBN. As indicated by Sanusi in the Channels interview, a number of these projects were implemented with the approval of the President while some others were carried out at the request of the President, with documentary evidence according to him!

(1d)Others in this category are the various other expenditure lines which were listed in schedules attached to Sanusi’s response as requested by the President. These include items such as legal fees, lunch for policemen and private guards, promotional activities etc. Already on-line in the public domain since 23rd February 2014 is a well articulated analysis by one Akin Oyebode (possibly the erudite Professor) whose article (http://www.proshareng.com/articles/2650/The-Case-Against-Sanusi-Lamido-Sanusi-) was equally recommended by Segun Adeniyi of ThisDay in the latter’s own back-page write-up of Thursday 27th February 2014 titled “Sarki Goma, Zamani Goma”.

2(a) Deposit for shares representing investment in Bank of Industry since September 2007, for which there was said to be no certificate even as of the 7th June 2013 date of the FRC report. First of all, it should be noted that this investment was made before Sanusi became Governor. Nonetheless, Sanusi’s written response of 20th May 2013 to the President clearly stated that the CBN had eventually obtained the certificate in February 2013, also attaching a copy. The fact that the certificate has been obtained should at least have been acknowledged in the FRC report made public.

2(b) Also, in this category is the fact that Sanusi indicated in his 20th May 2013 response to the President that the CBN had a written waiver (copy of which he attached) for not yet complying fully with IFRS standard in accordance with section 57 of the Financial Reporting Act No. 6 of 2011. The FRC report should have acknowledged this, possibly stating the FRC’s position on the said waiver but the report simply gave an impression of blatant non-compliance by the CBN.

3. FRC’s position that CBN should have specifically informed the President about the total amount of AMCON bonds in the entire financial system (not only CBN’s own portion) maturing in December 2013 because failure to do this had caused the FGN 2013 budget to be prepared without providing for these obligations, and non-availability of funds may affect the country’s risk rating. This was after Sanusi had explained in the 20th May 2013 response why AMCON bonds could not and should not be provisioned in order to maintain the country’s risk rating as against the President’s request for specific provisioning which would have impaired the rating.

Furthermore, the 22nd issue raised by the President in his query of 4th May 2013 to Sanusi already suggested that the President was aware that some bonds were maturing in December 2013 which Sanusi also highlighted in giving the CBN’s AMCON bond maturity profile. The responsibility for FGN budget preparation taking cognisance of all AMCON bonds rests with the Minister of Finance, not the CBN Governor. It would have been a serious omission for the Finance Minister not to have obtained such input in putting together the budget. The Ministry of Finance, just like the CBN has institutional representation on the board of AMCON.

On a final note, while Sanusi may not have been perfect and had his flaws as CBN Governor, it would be fair at least for supposedly informed commentators to provide a balanced view. One significant point of note that would be almost ungodly to downplay is the evident fact in the CBN audited accounts that the CBN’s contribution to the federation account increased from N8billion in 2008 before Sanusi became Governor to N80bn as of the 2012 audited accounts. Sanusi also said as much in the Channels interview, stating further that based on the 2013 audited accounts of the CBN, the figure is likely to be about N159bn. While this is not a licence for recklessness (if there was any), it deserves special commendation and mention.

Also in the Channels interview, Sanusi stated that in the almost five years that he was CBN Governor, the CBN provided about  75% of the total internally generated funds given to the Finance Ministry by all MDAs. And more graphically, he stated that the CBN has contributed out of its surplus, almost N600bn to the federation account in the last five years, more than the entire 50 years of the CBN before he became Governor!

•Jason wrote via bobjason2011@yahoo.com