Reps, Sanusi differ over CBN powers

THE House of Representatives, on Monday, insisted that the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Lamido Sanusi, has no power to inject N620 billion into some ailing banks in 2009, as well as the N125 million donations to victims of bomb explosions in Kano and Madalla, Niger State.But the CBN boss disagreed, saying the apex bank was right and that the CBN acted in line with its statutory role as the lender of last resort, as provided by Section 42(2) of the CBN Act 2007.This came to fore during an investigative hearing conducted by the House Committee on Banking and Currency, on the alleged expenditure of public funds by the CBN and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) without the approval of the National Assembly.The minority leader of the House, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, who pointedly told the CBN boss of operating on a 'blank cheque' and refusing to follow the principle and letters of the 1999 Constitution, as amended, said 'in the United Kingdom and United States where their apex banks intervened in their banks and other sectors of their economy, they did so with the active participation of their parliaments.'The lawmaker, however, argued that 'there must be distinction between autonomy and accountability,' adding that it was desirable for the CBN to be autonomous, but that did not preclude it from being accountable.The chairman of the committee, Honourable Chukwudi Onyereri, said 'the investigative hearing was not to witch-hunt the CBN, but to use the outcome to strengthen the bank and AMCON in the delivery of their mandates.'The CBN boss, while reacting, said the N620 billion loan was an asset creation in the balance sheet of the CBN.According to him, 'it did not involve using money from any existing funds in the treasury. The loan was duly approved by both the committee of governors and the board of directors of the bank.'Commenting on the donations to bomb blast victims, the CBN governor said the bank acted within its statutory powers, adding that the money was approved in line with the policy framework and corporate social responsibility activities.
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