| How some panicking bank chiefs pressured Jonathan, Alison-Madueke to remove me — Sanusi
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Mr. Sanusi says he was suspended because of his determination to get to the root of the missing $20 billion oil money. Few days before he was suspended, the outgoing Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Lamido Sanusi, told top bankers in the country that they would have to open their books to unravel the whereabouts of the missing $20 billion oil money, the New York Times is reporting. Suspecting that some of the bankers had helped in laundering the missing money, Mr Sanusi said on February 11 he warned the top bank executives in a bimonthly meeting that their books would have to be scrutinised to discover where the missing money had been lodged. “Some of them were not giving information about their accounts,” Mr Sanusi said. “I told them I would order a special examination.” Nine days later, President Goodluck Jonathan suspended him from his position. Senior media aide to Mr. Jonathan, Reuben Abati, who announced Mr. Sanusi’s suspension said the central banker was sacked for “financial recklessness and misconduct “inconsistent with the administration’s vision of a Central Bank.” But Mr. Sanusi said he was suspended because of his determination to get to the root of the missing fund. According to him, two of the bankers, who he refused to identify, “went and reported to the petroleum minister.” He said he knew his days were numbered after that. PREMIUM TIMES checks indicate that both the bank chiefs and the petroleum minister then pressured President Jonathan to quickly remove Mr. Sanusi so he does not expose the monumental corruption in the NNPC and bring down the administration. “Once the president got that information,” a presidential insider said. “He had to act quickly to save himself and Diezani from further humiliation.” Mr. Sanusi, who traced the missing funds to top political offices in Abuja, suggested that the fund might have been diverted to finance next year’s election. |
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