Muhammad Sanusi II, emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says the apex bank is illegally lending to federal government.
Sanusi also said “the problem of the current government is not having the right policies to fix the current economic woes”.
Speaking at a policy monitoring dialogue hosted by Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development, at Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja, Sanusi said the CBN had been lending to the government above the limits stipulated by the CBN Act of 2007.
Sanusi’s presentation showed that CBN’s lending to the government since Buhari came in had spiked from about N1.5 trillion to over N4.5 trillion.
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“The CBN-FGN relationship is no longer independent. In fact, one could argue their relationship has become unhealthy,” he said.
“CBN claims on the FGN now tops N4.7 trillion — equal to almost 50% of the FGN’s total domestic debt. This is a clear violation of the Central Bank Act of 2007 (Section 38.2) which caps advances to the FGN at 5% of last year’s revenues. Has CBN become the government’s lender of last or first resort?”
He said no one was willing to lend to the Nigerian government, further stating that “if senate approved, I want to see who will lend you $30billion when you have five exchange rates”.
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Sanusi said the country is enmeshed in heavy debts, stating that out of every N1 Nigeria makes, 40 kobo goes to debt and 60 kobo is left for salaries, health, education, power, infrastructure.
He said oil is merely a working capital that cannot make the country rich. Nigeria produces one barrel for 80 Nigerians; Saudi Arabia produces one for 3 Saudis, Sanusi said.
He noted that in every economy, growth is driven by “consumption, investment and net export”, adding that “our exports cannot grow, without regulatory certainty or an increase in the price of oil”.
He lamented that the country was spending money on repaying debts and also on recurrent expenditure, as against education, healthcare, power, and other infrastructure.
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The emir also stated that Nigeria is the lowest per capita spender on development in Africa.
On speaking truth to power, Sanusi said: “I can’t apologise for being who I am. The government I served, I did not keep quiet. When I am not serving the government, I cannot keep quiet.”
21 comments
Sarki mai surutu!
There are only two of them, real men with useful and usable knowledge – Sanusi and Soludo.
Love him or hate him, sls remain the personification of what and how a Modern Northern Emir should be, bold and informed.
That is our kwaruption mashal!
I think we need sound minds like HRH to steer this country aright….or at least listen to them.
Sarki,mai fadi gaskiya Allah ya ja zamanin ka.ka gaya was Buhariya mai talakawa wahala
Nigeria has been forbidden
Sanusi. Buhari and the economy
Sanusi, is wasting his time. CBN is own by Nigerian and the President can not in the name of CBN ACT let people now die in their various state as result of no money to pay salary. The serve as loan to states government to be able to pay salaries. As a CBN Government under you watch you were they and all the dollar was shared and nothing was save. Please keep you CBN ACT to your self.
Sir, yours views are attacking the speaker and not the issue. Kindly address the issue and not the speaker.
To me, he spoke the truth (and boldly too), his intentions notwithstanding.
Let’s look at the current events that insistently keep us in recession and not apportioning blames to wasted forces.
And you forgot that half of the money in CBN is owned by depositors
He tell the true
Sarki Sunusi Allah ya karfafeka wajan fadar gaskiya. Allah ya Kara mana irinku a Nigeria.
Can he suggestan alternative way for Buhari to pay salaries and run government without borrowing having fully been aware of the fact that the government he served crept all government monies and resources as evidenced in the 20b alarm he was raising ?
Truth is always good but how many of other Nigerians can come up and say similar things espercially those Political religious leaders. Cudos to him “I can’t apologies for being who I am ” that inspires me
Good one(Mark) to HRH,Sanusi.
Please help to reposition this country to its’ glorious base.
Your comment..Hrh, speaks d Better truth, but solutions were nt proffer.
we are in a terrible situation. economic recess which i understand affect the entire world as a result of decrease in oil price.
Government has responsibility of sorftning the hardship that its people are in to. So borrowing from CBN to solve the immediate problems of the people is not bad.
The money was loaned not stolen.
Haba Sarki you always choose to be controversial. In your position you hv thousands ways of offering advices to FG not at open.You are the only noisy emir Kano has ever produced.
I dont know. but it seems to many that your actions are delibrate.
From the outside of this news it looks sensational and that is what some Nigerians want to hear especially now corruption is being tamed. Emir Sanusi has acess to PMB and the comments reported,if at all he was quoted correctly,must be unfortunate because he has not followed by the majestic way of balancing anything important from a dignitary like himself. I have the firm believe that PMB will not do anything illegal knowingly. Magaji Garba
Pls permit me to start wit a piece of advice, if u dont knw sometin endervour to learn nd if u knw teach. Despite d dat Mr. President an d Emire are frm d same region yet, he(sanusi) summon d courage to construtivly cristise d president’s policy, he truly deserve commendation; after all PDP’s refuseual to accpt their mistake led to it failure. APC should lean frm d past.
My problem with is that he criticizes more and offer less or none in terms of solutions. He finds pleasure in dancing to the gallery just to impress the gullible majority. What I expect is for the emir to inform us the solutions he proffered which the government refused to implement. If he has reached the government and his inputs have been rejected then he is under obligation to inform Nigerians. The current style is more like a campaign manifesto for the opposition who put us in this mess in the first instance.