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.