Members of the green chamber, the House of Representatives have rejected the suspension of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi.
Angered by what they described as as selective implementation or non-compliance with its resolution against some public officers over corrupt practices, the House has mandated its committees on Justice, and Legislative Compliance to compile all resolutions that have indicted any public officer for which President Goodluck Jonathan refused to act, and request the president to act on them immediately.
The Presidency Thursday suspended the apex bank boss in a statement signed by the Media and Publicity Adviser to the president Dr Reuben Abalti.
The house resumed plenary at about 11.05am and the second legislative business of the day was a motion under matters of national importance titled: Suspension of the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi sponsored by Rep Samson Osagie, PDP, Edo state.
The Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal had immediately put it to voice vote and it was unanimously carried for debate.
Osagie had barely finished reading his motion when Rep Henry Ofongo,PDP, Bayelsa, raised a point of order challenging Osagie’s motion.
But the Speaker had overruled his point of order saying Ofongo had to wait till Osagie had made his submission, the position that did not go down well with PDP legislators who in turns tried to tear Osagie’s motion apart.
Ralph Nnana Igbokwe, PDP, Imo in his submission had described the position as irrelevant bordering on the fact that “Mr President did the right thing by suspending Sanusi because the CBN was a government institution.
This development again led to a verbal war which dominated the House of Representatives plenary for almost one hour with support and opposition to Sanusi’s suspension torn along party lines, with the Peoples Democratic Party ,PDP legislators in support and All Progressive Congress ,APC, lawmakers outrightly rejecting Sanusi’s suspension.
Osagie in his motion had observed that”the president on Thursday 20th of February announced through his special adviser Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben abalti the suspension of the CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi over the report made against him by the Financial Reporting Council and other investigative bodies.
According to Osagie, section 11(7) of the CBN Act, 2007 which gave the president powers to remove the Governor, subject to two-third majority approval of the Senate did not contemplate suspension, adding that it was also doubtful if Sanusi was given fair hearing in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
His motion was however punctured by noise from Rep Henry Ofongo , who through a point of order faulted Osagie that he was bringing in issues from the CBN Act, which were not relevant to the matter he was debating.
The lawmaker was however asked to wait and present his points during the debate of the motion by Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal who was presiding over the plenary.
Anxieties subsequently set in, throwing the session into a momentary uproar when another lawmaker, Rep Ralph Nnanna Igbokwe also raised a point of order, drawing the attention of the House to the same section of the CBN Act earlier cited by Osagie which gave the President powers to appoint and remove the CBN Governor.
According to him, if CBN was a public institution, operating under the public service rules with Sanusi as a public officer heading the institution, he can be removed under such rules if found wanting in the discharge of his duties, urging the House “to resist every temptation not to act on the side of the law.”
Tambuwal though ruled that Igbokwe was in order, but he explained that his assertions did not resolve the issue of suspension not being contemplated in the Act, as contended by Osagie, and subsequently yielded the floor for the Deputy Minority Leader, Rep Leo Ogor who had indicated to speak against the motion to do so.
But before Ogor, Nkoyo Toyo through another point of order on matters of privilege warned that Sanusi, no doubt was an important personality, and a great Nigerian whose case should not be reduced to politicking on the floor of the House, a position the Speaker told members to note as they debate the issue.
Ogor in his submission defended the suspension as a beginning of a process, and not an end in itself. “For you to remove somebody, there have to be a process, and the suspension is the beginning of that,” the lawmaker stated amidst shouts of ‘No! ‘No!! No!!! from supporters of the motion.
When Tambuwal put question for voice votes on the motion, more members voted unanimously supported.
Minority Leader of Nigeria’s House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, APC, Lagos has expressed dismay at the suspension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi as CBN Governor.He said such action can be legally queried , “I am concerned about its legality. Whilst it can be argued that an employer has the right to suspend an employee, the question here is whether this is a suspension or a removal in the guise of suspension.”
Gbajabiamila further described the suspension as an attack on CBN autonomy and setback for the fight on corruption.
“For good reason the CBN Governor world over is independent and autonomous. To remove him you need confirmation and buy-in of the Senate. You cannot do it through the back door. If you read carefully the reasons advanced by the Presidency then it becomes clear that this is a removal and not a suspension and therefore illegal and unconstitutional.”
“It becomes more worrisome when you consider the timing and the fact that the CBN Governor has just blown the lid off a monumental scandal involving the disappearance of $20billion from our coffers.
“The message being sent out is not the best . There can be no worse attack on the autonomy of the apex financial institution as envisaged by the constitution. For God’s sake the man only has 3 months left!”
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has said the suspension of Sanusi as Governor is patently illegal, poorly thought-out and in bad taste, noting that it will definitely have negative consequences for the nation’s economy.
In a statement issued in Lagos on Thursday by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party also said the action is the clearest indication yet that President Jonathan, whose body language does not abhor corruption, is willing to silence any whistle-blower, no matter his or her status.
”As the country wallows in unprecedented corruption under the rudderless and corruption-hugging Jonathan Administration, the President may have finally decided to send a strong signal to all Nigerians that it will not tolerate any exposure of corruption under any circumstance. What better way to do this than to silence the man who has exposed the alleged missing 20 billion dollars in the NNPC accounts?” it queried.
APC said that Sanusi’s suspension has also shown clearly that President Jonathan as a leader does not care if he destroys national I institutions on the altar of personal ego and political expediency.
”First it was the judiciary which came under his sledge hammer, when he suspended then President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Ayo Salami, just to satisfy the hawks in his party. Then it is the turn of the National Assembly, the Police and now the financial sector. President Jonathan should not destroy our institutions before he bows out of office next year. These institutions are older than him and will definitely outlive him,” APC warned.
The party said while Section 11 (f) of the CBN Act 2007 empowers the President to remove the CBN Governor, the section is clear that he can only do so if he has the support of two-thirds majority of the Senate.
”Nowhere in the Act is it said that the President can suspend the CBN Governor, as he has done in another of his serial rape of the country’s laws,” it said, adding that the reasons given by the presidency for Sanusi’s suspension are as puerile as they are unprecedented, and amount to calling the dog a bad name just to hang it.
The party said the questions that arise, based on those ridiculous reasons, are: ”Why has it taken almost five years of Sanusi’s tenure for the President to realize the irregularities of CBN under Sanusi?
Why is the President acting on questionable allegations against Sanusi at a time the CBN Governor has opened the can of worms in the NNPC? Why has a President, who has always treated glaring corruption allegations against his political appointees with so much levity, now so quick to move against a CBN Governor who has never been accused, let alone indicted of corruption?
APC expressed serious concerns at the implication of Sanusi’s suspension for the nation’s economy, especially on the value of the Naira; local and international investments; the stock market; inflation and the overall health of the economy.
”Coming at a time when the economy was already under pressure due to internal and external factors and is in need of significant investments in several sectors, such as power and manufacturing to maintain its economic growth rates, the uncertainty caused by the suspension will leave both local and international investors questioning the economic direction of the country and therefore their investment approach to Nigeria.
”At best, new investments will be delayed until investors consider that economic and political stability has been restored, and at worst, which is more likely, both new and existing investors will pull back.
”The Nigerian Stock Exchange that was already witnessing a withdrawal of portfolio investors, due to the US tapering exercise, is likely to be exacerbated as more investors, local and international, exit the market, further putting downward pressure on the country’s exchange rate at a time the CBN is already having difficulty defending the currency. In fact, the devaluation of the national currency looms.
”All these factors will also drive higher inflation rates with its attendant economic, social and political costs. No one can say for certain exactly how costly this action will be for the nation but there are no doubts it will be high,” the party said.
It called on Nigerians to stay strong in their determination to fight the canker worm of corruption, even as the government of the day makes clear it will not hesitate to punish whistle-blowers and reward corrupt persons.
”If anyone in this country is still doubting that the Jonathan administration lacks the wherewithal to fight corruption, operate under the rule of law and take Nigeria to greater heights, that person should now clear the doubt. This administration has clearly reached the end of its tethers and should be voted out next year to pave the
way for a party that is willing and able to rescue Nigeria,” APC said.