The
controversy surrounding the planned exit of the Governor of the Central
Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, deepened on Thursday with the
governor insisting that he would not quit the post until his term
expired on June 2, 2014.
In keeping with his vow, which analysts
see as a direct confrontation with President Goodluck Jonathan, Sanusi
has said he will not proceed on his terminal leave in March as initially
being speculated.
The President had reportedly asked the
CBN governor to resign immediately because of the alleged deliberate
leakage of the letter that Sanusi wrote to him in which the governor
accused the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation of not remitting
$49.8bn crude oil revenue to the Federation Account.
Sanusi was said to have denied leaking
the letter to former President Olusegun Obasanjo or anyone for that
matter, and allegedly told the President that he could only be removed
by two-thirds of members of the Senate as required by law.
The governor reportedly told the
President that the letter was available in the Presidential Villa, the
Ministry of Finance and the CBN, and wondered how he could be accused of
leaking it.
One of our correspondents learnt on
Thursday that Sanusi expressed his determination to remain in office
until the expiration of his one-term tenure of five years on June 2
during a meeting with top management officers of the bank on Wednesday.
The Director, Corporate Communications
Department, CBN, Mr. Ugochukwu Okoroafor, confirmed the development in a
chat with one of our correspondents in Abuja on Thursday.
He said the governor used the
opportunity provided by the “family meeting” to clear doubts surrounding
the expiration of his tenure.
Okoroafor said, “The CBN is an important
organisation in the economy of this country and we have to be careful
in whatever we do because our actions send a strong message to the
economy as a whole.
“The governor had a meeting with
officials of the central bank and it was like a family meeting; and in
that meeting, he made it clear that he is not going anywhere until his
tenure expires in June.
“He is not proceeding on retirement
leave by March as being speculated; rather, he will be retiring on June 2
this year when he will be completing his five-year single tenure.”
According to Okoroafor, the CBN governor
will formally announce his retirement in March, when his successor is
expected to be named, and will remain in office until June 2.
PUNCH NG
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