The House of Representatives on Thursday had a
rowdy session over the suspension of the Governor of the Central Bank of
Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, by President Goodluck Jonathan, the News
Agency of Nigeria reports.
Debate on the suspension of the CBN governor
started when the Minority Whip of the House, Samson Osagie (APC-Edo), raised a
point of order on the suspension of Sanusi.
According to Osagie, the CBN Act of 2007 as
amended does not empower the President or anybody else to suspend the CBN
governor.
He said section 11 (7) of the Act only empowered
the President to remove the governor, subject to the approval of two-third
majority of the Senate.
The legislator stressed that the allegation of
financial recklessness reported by the Accounting Standards Board upon
which Sanusi was suspended did not indicate if he was given fair hearing.
But Leo Ogor (PDP-Delta), said the action of the
President was a process that could lead to Sanusi’s removal as stipulated in
the CBN Act.
Also, Ralph Igbokwe (PDP-Imo), said that Section
11 of the CBN Act, empowered Jonathan to suspend the governor.
However, Nkoyo Toyo (PDP-Cross River), cautioned
the House not to politicise the matter.
The House later mandated its Committees on
Justice and Legislative Compliance to compile all resolutions of the House
indicting public officers but on which action had not been taken.
At the Senate, however, the upper chamber said
the President acted within the ambit of his statutory functions by suspending
Sanusi.
Senate’s spokesman, Enyinnaya Abaribe,
reacting to the suspension, said the President by suspending Sanusi was well
within the range of his statutory function as President.
“The President only suspended Sanusi, he did not
sack him. So he acted accordingly,” he said.
Abaribe said the only communication to the Senate
in respect of the development in the CBN was the forwarding of the names of the
new CBN governor and a new deputy governor for confirmation by the Senate.
“The new governor will only assume office at the
expiration of Sanusi’s tenure in June,” he added.
But Senator Babajide Omoworare (APC Osun East) in
his reaction to Sanusi’s suspension, told journalists in Abuja that the
President’s action was illegal and contrary to the provisions of the CBN Act.
He said the CBN Act prevented the President from
doing so except in the case of outright sack of CBN Governor, which he said
must be presented to the Senate for two-third majority approval.
“Sanusi, no doubt, has been the crown witness in
the matter of alleged mismanagement of Nigeria’s oil proceeds to the tune of
$49.8bn within the last two years, which made his suspension very un comfortable
to Nigerians and her strategic foreign partners at this time,” he said.
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