Suspended Governor of the Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi has told Citi FM he will contest his suspension in court.
Lamido Sanusi told Citi FM’s Vivian Kai Mensahhe would go as far as the Supreme Court to challenge the powers of the President to suspend the governor of the Central Bank.
“I will take it as far as the Supreme Court if need be challenging the powers of the president to suspend the governor of the central bank without 2/3 of the senate.
The law is clear, the law says the President cannot remove the governor without 2/3 of the senate, so what I think we now need is to have an interpretation of this removal, if you remove somebody for a week or for two weeks or indefinitely have you removed him?”
Lamido Sanusi was suspended on Thursday by President Good luck Jonathan for “financial recklessness and misconduct”.
His woes begun in 2013 when he alleged that $20bn in oil revenue had gone missing.
He was asked to step down by President Jonathan after he made the allegation but refused to do so.
According to him, his move to hit the courts is not to stay in office but to ensure that the Central Bank is protected from political interference.
“Let me look For me , I have had a wonderful [time] in the last four and half years as governor, I don’t plan to go back and so I have had my last day however, I will challenge it because of the institution.’’
“The President in my view did not have the legal power to do that and I need to make sure that the court makes that ruling so that the Central Bank is protected from political interference
I will take it to court not because I want to go back, even if the court ruled that it is wrong I’m not going back. But I plan to make sure we get the court to rule that,’’ he reiterated.
Sanusi was appointed Governor of the Bank of Nigeria in 2009.
His deputy, Sarah Alade, who was with him in Niger attending a meeting when he received his suspension letter, is to fill in until a new governor is appointed.
By: Vivian Kai Mensah/citifmonline.com/Ghana