Why EFCC, CBN are being condemned
Written by Hussain J. Ibrahim, Solomon Chung & Boco Edet
Friday, 23 April 2010 20:50

[General Aliyu Gusau, National Security Adviser]

General Aliyu Gusau, National Security Adviser
When one of Nigeria’s top spymasters passed a vote of no-confidence on the two most important government agencies in the country at the moment, he confirmed some fears that have been hovering on the nation’s political landscape
General Aliyu Gusau, the National Security Adviser is a recluse who is not known for making public his views on national matters. But recently, he discarded his usual reserve and came down hard on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), two government organs at the centre of policies to curb corruption and graft in the nation and to set up an effective monetary system that will support the growth of the economy.

Gusau accused the EFCC of having credibility problems and the CBN of damaging “economic activity in the banking sector to the detriment of the larger society.”

Gusau’s statement has not been helpful to the cause of EFCC chairperson, Farida Waziri and the CBN governor, Sanusi Lamido, both of whom have been under intense fire lately by opponents not comfortable with the way their actions in their respective agencies have affected them. At the centre of the actions taken by both Waziri and Lamido are the arrests of some influential Nigerians. But unlike in the past where both the EFCC and the CBN were treated with deference and are looked like untouchables who have the might of the government behind them, both agencies have been suffering backlash from those uncomfortable with their actions. The administration under which they are serving seems to be leaving them in the lurch.

One after the other, the EFCC had its former officers who were foremost in the arrests and prosecution of corrupt and fraudulent kingpins in the past killed in what appear to be attacks meant to send a message. The CBN governor on the other hand has been the subject of a long sustained campaign in the media by different groups who have been carrying out paid advertisements to question the credibility of the reforms he introduced at the apex bank since he took over from his predecessor, Chukwuma Soludo in June, 2009.

Lamido’s ascension to the CBN immediately broke the long romance that has been going on between the apex bank and some of the nation’s top bankers who the CBN now accuse of various shady deals and questionable granting of loans without collateral to selves, family members and cronies, exposing the banks to collapse and the potential loss of customers’ savings. Already, the banks have left themselves vulnerable by involving in margin trading at the Nigerian Stock Exchange where they incurred losses in trillions of naira. It was a crisis which echoes the larger crisis of bad governance in the political and public sector, where politicians are fighting a running battle with the EFCC over money laundering, embezzlement of public funds and fraud, all with the intention of self-enrichment. Suddenly, corporate Nigeria too was exposed and in its underbelly too was found embezzlement, money laundering, corruption and other forms of fraud.

There is a connection between the two: corporate Nigeria acted as a cover for the impunity of public Nigeria, giving its impunity a semblance of respectability. The EFCC got invited by the CBN to help clean up the mess. And one after the other, top public figures were asked to return the money they owed the banks and the managing directors of some top banks were asked to explain how they acquired their stupendous wealth. The bank chiefs got some of their assets confiscated and while some of them were arraigned and later released on bail.

Fighting from the Diaspora

Nuhu Ribadu, the immediate predecessor of Waziri, who rather controversially recently got the corruption case against him by the federal government dropped and Nasir el-Rufai, the former Minister of the FCT, once a rising political star, who is wanted by the EFCC to answer for charges of corruption leveled against him. From the Diaspora, Ribadu and el-Rufai have become vocal critics of the Yar’adua administration and have been sponsoring campaigns to discredit the administration, promising to set up a mass movement that would ensure the administration does not come back in 2011. Their prayers were answered somewhat when Yar’adua’s illness rendered him powerless and ushered in an acting president, Goodluck Jonathan with whom Ribadu and el-Rufai seem to have found favour. One of the decisions Jonathan took was to sack the National Security Adviser under Yar’adua, Sarki Mukhtar and bring in Aliyu Gusau who was National Security Adviser when former President Olusegun Obasanjo, the benefactor of both Ribadu and el-Rufai, was in power.

Ribadu appears set to return to the country as a senior adviser on anti-corruption to Jonathan, effectively putting him back in charge of the EFCC. That would also be bringing his former tormentors in the EFCC and the Code of Conduct Tribunal under his supervision.

But the statement by the national security adviser had added substance to widely held belief that Jonathan’s administration is uncomfortable with Farida’s EFCC. In fact, while Jonathan was a guest of President Obama in the U.S he had said in his discussion with the American Council for Foreign Affairs that the EFCC had lost its vibrancy since Ribadu left. What is not so clear is Gusau’s role in the politics of the anti-corruption war. Unconfirmed sources have said either he or Ribadu would be playing very important roles should Jonathan decide to contest for the Presidency. Various sources had fingered him while others had touted Ribadu as a potential running mate to Jonathan.

When contacted for her comments on the criticisms of selectivity leveled against her in the running of the EFCC by the national security adviser, Waziri told Weekly Trust: “When an offence is committed no matter who is responsible, we pick him up. There is no issue of selectivity. Definitely, we are not being selective. Nobody has sued the EFCC for unlawful arrest. We get our facts before we invite the suspect.”

Lamido and CBN in the crossfire

The EFCC is not alone in going after some big names who have now found favour with the Jonathan administration. Some of the big bankers and important Nigerians who were indebted to the banks were members of the famous corporate Nigeria that bankrolled the elections of the ruling PDP and former President Obasanjo in the past.

As Obasanjo has assumed a new importance under the Jonathan administration and another election looms closer in 2011, the politicians are naturally seeking money to fortify their war chests for the elections. Corporate Nigeria has the money. And Lamido’s CBN with its sabre rattling is a real inconvenience.

Lamido speaks less and less often since a new Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga was appointed to replace Mansur Mukhtar who is from his home state of Kano. The speculation now is he has been caged. There have also been various speculations that he could be removed too, just as Waziri’s removal is been speculated. When Weekly Trust contacted the CBN to get Lamido’s response on the criticism by the national security adviser, the answer was simply “no comment”.

The intrigues get intriguing

A glimpse of how the EFCC cannot escape being politicized is the recent saga involving the agency and the former Delta State governor, Chief James Ibori. While Yar’adua still held sway, his attorney general, Michael Aondokaa employed all the tricks he could to quash the corruption case against Ibori who was one of the chief financiers of Yar’adua’s election as president. Later, Ibori got the courts to clear him of all corruption charges. He got a reprieve from the EFCC. But now suddenly with the emergence of Jonathan on the scene, the EFCC have found a new reason to make Ibori answer for the corruption charges against him.

But the bigger issue is the Nigerian state which keeps losing out to the antics of the politicians who have been blocking the entrenchment of genuine reforms in the country by the personal interest they bring in their supervision of important agencies like the EFCC and the CBN, dragging them into the mud of politics.

^^^
Even if Sanusi is not removed eventually, the success of this administration in curbing his reckless speeches and stupid road shows is already a demonstrable success in bring some small degree of sanity to our financial system.

EFCC and CBN?
the man has nothing to say on Militants, The Police, state of armed robbery and political killings

is he alright?

^^^
"One man miltant is anothers' freedom fighter" just think about it.

This is what it has come down to, we are now learning banking from Sudan

Sudan Backs CBN on Non-interest Banking
By Emele Onu, 04.26.2010

The monetary authority in Sudan has expressed its readiness to supportthe Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in implementing non- interest banking in the country.A statement by the CBN and signed by its Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Mohammed Abdulahi, stated that the support, which isfrom the Central Bank of Sudan (CBOS) would be through experience sharing and capacity building.


According to the statement, a CBN delegation led by the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi , had visited the CBOS where the CBN Governor intimated officials of the CBOS on the on-going efforts to develop a regulatory and supervisory framework for non-interest banking inNigeria. The Advisor to the CBOS Governor on Non-interest Banking, Dr. Ahmad Ali Abdullah, assured the CBN of the readiness of the CBOS to support CBN in the implementation efforts.


Non-interest banking is provided for in Nigeria in Sections 9, 23 and52 of the Banks and other Financial Institution Act 1991 as amended. The visit to the CBOS coincided with the participation of the CBN delegation to the 16th Meeting of the Council of Islamic Financial Services Board (IFSB) in Khartoum, Sudan, this month. That was thesecond meeting attended by Nigeria since the CBN became a full member of the Council in January 2009.


The meeting was preceded by an international conference with the themes, the Changing Landscape ofIslamic Finance – Imminent Challenges and Future Directions andDeveloping Capacity Building to Enhance Financial Stability in theIslamic Financial Services Industry.

According to the CBN, the Council deliberated on several issuesincluding strengthening of Islamic financial system and approved inprinciple to establish an inter–governmental special purpose entity tohelp in building liquidity management infrastructure at both domesticand international levels.“This is to be achieved by facilitating cross-border liquiditymanagement among Non-interest financial institutions through theacquisition and maintenance of global pool of sovereign assets,” CBN said.According to the Council, said the Nigerian apex bank, such sovereignassets must be suitable for use as underlying asset on which it wouldbenchmark the issuance of highly rated Islamic bonds to be tradedglobally.“Other areas which the council deliberated and agreed upon include theissue of capacity building among the operators and regulatoryauthorities with a view to strengthening their operations and ensuringefficient service delivery in the industry.The CBN delegation to Sudan which comprised the Governor, MallamSanusi Lamido Sanusi; Deputy Governor, Financial System Stability, Dr.Kingsley Chiedu Moghalu; Director, Financial Policy and RegulationDepartment, Mr. ChrisChukwu and others returned to the country last week.

Culled from Thisday

the way we dey run things for this country me i no gbadun

these words are not mine originally but i echo the sentiments therein;

first of all, there is no economic purist who takes the empty posturing of gusau, the nsa director serious, gusau is an illiterate, quota promoted officer, whose name i believe has appeared on the halliburton list, (i)compared to the cbn, i submit that the halliburton accomplices have done more harm to the nigerian economy, (ii) it is impolitic and a clear antithesis to national security for an illiterate adviser to castigate a cbn guvnor publicly, (iii) when we talk economics, we talk with facts, and NOT empty political statements and innuendos, enough with the buffoon, (iv) i further submit that the issue of sanusi's reform is a matter of style NOT substance, no cbn guvnor on earth loves the microphone as sanusi does, has anybody wondered why sanusi, who was always quick on the repartee has kept quiet and held back from retorting or throwing a reply to gusau, maybe, he is has fallen in love with his position,

^^^
There you go again, attacking the messanger, why not attack and disprove his meaasage if you can.
Bye the way, Sanusi is not economist either. No serious society will call a bachelor's degree holder in economics (from ABU, or any other Nigerian university for that matter) an economist. Be serious.

Nigerian's learn to focus on issues. 1. Did Sanusi come to equity with clean hands? 2. Giving First bank and UBA where he worked before N200 billion as Agric loan to cover up their liquidity problem without paying interest while other 8 banks pay interest is that equity? 3. How come all the other cleared banks are declaring loss? 4. How many CBN officials have been sacked and property seized in all of these? 5. Apart from the 8 bank MD's how many bank officials who stolen billions have their properties taken over by the bank.
The TRUTH; shareholders are considered fools. You buy IPO at N33 when Sanusi was in First Bank and now the Bank pays you 10K div, how sad compare this with their huge salaries and benefits, even the CBN appointed MD's now have sudden wealth, watch out for more civic centers, private jets, new property owners in Ikoyi and VI etc
Solution; Mr President appoint the man who started GTB as the CBN governor. Away with mediocrity which has killed the land. Very soon people will start celebrating Sanusi, the IBTC peter side until they give us the Cadbury treatment. Facts are that the economy is not been managed properly and level of competency is below average. Check out interest rate on deposit, no loans etc. God help us all AMEN

naijaking1:

^^^
There you go again, attacking the messanger, why not attack and disprove his meaasage if you can.
Bye the way, Sanusi is not economist either. No serious society will call a bachelor's degree holder in economics (from ABU, or any other Nigerian university for that matter) an economist. Be serious.

we should call back economists like Soludo.
Those are real economists.
Not all these mallams chasing innocent bank MDs.

naijaking1:

^^^
There you go again, attacking the messanger, why not attack and disprove his meaasage if you can.
Bye the way, Sanusi is not economist either. No serious society will call a bachelor's degree holder in economics (from ABU, or any other Nigerian university for that matter) an economist. Be serious.

Gusau's message is not worth commenting on.
It is a beer parlour gist that isn't worth its salt.
The system is messed up, i will be the first to agree to that.
Sanusi's methods are not perfect but if anyone is looking for who to lynch, go find Soludo.Who was busy posing around like a showbiz impresario and hanging around the guys he was meant to be regulating while the industry was burning.unfortunately,most persons believed the man when he said all was well, while banks were churning out lies upon lies in the name of Annual report (not like it has even ceased).The annual reports of Nigerian banks are not worth the paper they are printed on.
Disparaging Nigerian graduates,especially anyone who graduated up to 3 decades ago is a comment that may come back to haunt you.
I wonder why you are so mesmerized by foreign degrees?
They do not automatically equate to substance, as have been proven over and again.
Guy,no get ulcer because of this Sanusi matter o!