Jonathan: I have absolute power to suspend Sanusi

President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday said Sanusi Lamido Sanusi still remains the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, even though he has been suspended.

While answering questions on Monday on the Presidential Media Chat, Jonathan said Sanusi was only asked to step aside to allow for proper investigation into issues raised by the Financial Reporting Council on the bank’s 2012 audit report.

He said it would not be appropriate for Sanusi, who was suspended 20 February, to be allowed to stay in his position because he was also the Chairman of the Board of the CBN.

He said Sanusi could come back “today or tomorrow” if he was cleared at the end of the investigations.

Jonathan, however, said he had full powers to suspend Sanusi as the CBN governor.

“Yes, I have absolute power. The CBN is not well defined in the Nigerian Constitution,’’ he said.

According to him, the president has oversight functions over the bank. The president explained that the suspension was delayed in view of the need to consult widely and not to send a wrong signal.

“When dealing with the treasury of a nation, you have to be careful and consult widely.’’

Jonathan spoke on the power sector, and gave assurance that the privatisation of the distribution and generating companies would yield the desired results.

Jonathan said that the privatisation programme was a big success, especially against the backdrop of its transparency and the involvement of major global players in the sector.

He gave an assurance that very soon Nigerians would begin to experience the dividends of the exercise through improved power supply in the country.

The president, however, said that the greatest challenge in the power sector was that of sabotage of oil pipelines by vandals.

“The main challenge in the power sector is sabotage, where some people go and blast oil pipelines, ’’ he said.