Great Nigerians, the times are perilous and developments are unfolding almost at the speed of light. Before you digest the hard facts of one scam, another set envelopes you. In the last one week, Lamido Sanusi, the now suspended Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, had changed from the accuser of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation of withholding revenues due to the Federation Account to the one being accused of scams in the management of the CBN. The President suspended him from office and the nation is awash with divergent views on the subject matter. The statement from the Presidency suspending Sanusi alleged various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct which are inconsistent with the administration’s vision of a Central Bank propelled by the core values of focused economic management, prudence, transparency and financial discipline. He was therefore removed pending investigations into breaches of enabling laws, due process and mandate of the CBN.
A number of issues have arisen from the initial accusation against NNPC, Sanusi’s suspension and the allegations grounding the suspension. It is important to dispassionately review the entire drama within the context of the law and the need to fight corruption and impunity to a standstill. First, the allegations by Sanusi against the NNPC and the management of Nigeria’s oil resources are still as important today as they were a few weeks and months ago. The disclosures coming out of the recent public hearing of the House of Representatives on kerosene subsidy further cement the need for the NNPC to come clean and mainstream transparency and accountability in its daily operations. Even if the figures quoted by Sanusi are not exact, the fact that we are witnessing diminished oil revenue at a time of high oil prices, on the face of it, places the onus on the NNPC and the Presidency to explain to Nigerians how we got into this mess. The mere reference to oil thieves or the statutory right to deduct expenses before paying monies into the Federation Account offers no insight into specific allegations of mismanagement. The mismanagement of oil resources by the NNPC is simply res ipsa loquitor – the thing speaks for itself.
The second is that allegations against Sanusi on the mismanagement of the affairs of the CBN, coming at a time he was championing a campaign for proper rendering of accounts by the NNPC looks suspicious and gives the impression of corruption fighting back at the whistleblower. One is also tempted to question the reason informing holding back action since June 2013 when this information was available to the President. This is reminiscent of the governance by blackmail of the Gen. Ibrahim Babangida days. Indeed, sins are covered until the official falls out of line with the administration. Was it mere administrative lethargy or what exactly was the President waiting for? On the issue of his suspension from office as distinct from removal, there are all kinds of legal controversies; lawyers are having a field day with arguments. But if Section 11 of the CBN Act of 2007 and other relevant laws are reviewed, it shows that the President may have acted beyond his power and would have used the findings of the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria as a basis to urge the Senate to pray for Sanusi’s removal by two thirds majority. If the CBN governor is guilty of serious misconduct in the discharge of the duties of his office, that should be a ground for removal and not mere suspension.
However, a closer review of the issues raised by the briefing note of the FRCN to the President of June 7, 2013 shows prima facie evidence of high level crimes, gross mismanagement, waste and abuse of office. The issues arose from the 2012 audited accounts of the CBN. The apex bank claimed to have paid the Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Plc N38.233bn in 2011 for printing of banknotes when the entire turnover of the Mint for the year was N29.370bn; close to N2bn paid for air charter that could not be substantiated; expenses on private guards and lunch for policemen coming up to N1.257bn and expenses on newspapers, books and periodicals amounting to N1.678bn, up from N1.670bn in 2011. The newspapers and book claim amounts to a scandalous N4.58m a day. In 2011, the CBN claimed to have legal and professional fees of N20.202bn. Pray, what type of cases are we paying lawyers so much and what are these professional services that demand more votes that the capital expenditure of some states of the federation? The CBN reduced its sundry expenses from N1.197bn in 2011 to N690m in 2012.
The CBN spent N9.24bn in 2012 from training and travels up from N7.65bn in 2011 and promotional activities of N3.086bn in 2012. Auditors were paid a fee of N300m in 2012, up from N200m paid in 2011. What manner of audit is this that should cost so much? The apex bank also wrote off loans to staff totalling N3.856bn in 2012! It was also accused of investing in the International Islamic Liquidity Management Corporation of Malaysia contrary to Section 34 (b) of the CBN Act; deducting staff personal income tax on the basis of the 2004 Personal Income Tax Act which has been overtaken by the 2011 Act. The foregoing financial indiscretions are issues Nigerians have vehemently criticised in federal and state budgets. Since the CBN budget and audited accounts are not available for public scrutiny, the apex bank seems to have felt it has a licence to commit financial felonies.
It is the position of this discourse that the NNPC imbroglio should be investigated and pursued to its logical conclusion including asking the Auditor-General of the Federation to audit the accounts of the NNPC, retrieve any unaccounted funds and recommend culpable persons for prosecution. For Sanusi, the above allegations warrant proper investigations by the anti-corruption agencies and possible prosecution of anyone found to have violated the laws. On both sides of the divide, Nigerians are the losers if the NNPC is allowed to get away with the loot. While allowing Sanusi and his colleagues to simply walk away after these disclosures will mean encouraging abuse of office. It will be wrong for public commentators or civil society activists to insist on getting to the root of either the NNPC or the CBN scandal alone. The law should take its full course in both cases where prima facie cases of mismanagement have been established.
In the CBN mismanagement revelations, pertinent questions arise: Where are the Public Accounts Committees of the National Assembly? Did they not get the CBN audited accounts? What was their response? Is anyone perhaps suggesting that the CBN autonomy should be a licence for operating outside the law? These developments offer an opportunity to interrogate the concept of autonomy for the CBN, indeed to strengthen it, without compromising observance of the rule of law. It is proposed that the CBN budget and audited accounts should be published in both the print and electronic media including websites within two weeks of the approval of the budget and submission of the report by auditors. It is also time the National Assembly woke up to its oversight duties.
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