Jonathan Suspends N5,000 Note Plan … As NBA Calls For Sanusi’s Sack

R-L: Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi with Managing Director, Oando Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu, Minister for Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga and the Minister for Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, at the Oando exhibition stand during the 1st Nigeria Oil and Gas Trade and Investment Forum at Onne, Rivers State…Thursday.

President Goodluck Jonathan has
met with Senate President David Mark and House Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal on
the decision of the National Assembly to reject the introduction of the N5,000
note by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

It was learnt that in the meeting
at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the President expressed worry on plans by the
National Assembly, especially the House, to begin Status Enquiry on Capital
Projects in the 2012 budget.

But Mark and Tambuwal assured him
that the physical tour of projects was not meant to attack the Executive or
initiate impeachment proceedings against him.

The President met Mark and
Tambuwal after the two chambers of the National Assembly opposed the
introduction of the N5,000 note by the CBN.

A source, who pleaded not to be
named because he is not allowed to talk to the media, said the Senate President
and Speaker insisted that the timing of the N5,000 note was not good.

They also conveyed the feelings of
Nigerians that they do not want the denomination, asking President Jonathan not
to run against the wish of the majority of Nigerians.

The source said: “The President
and the National Assembly leaders had mutual discussion on the arguments for
and against the N5,000 note.

“At the end of the day, the
President told the leaders: ‘If that is the popular decision of Nigerians, we
will advise the CBN to have a rethink of the policy. We will not enforce it
because we cannot run against the wish of our people.’

“The President was not too
categorical but his body language at the meeting indicated that he might
consult with the CBN and the Economic Management Team to drop the introduction
of the new note.”

It was gathered that the President
was concerned also about the decision of the National Assembly to embark on
Status Enquiry on Capital Projects in 2012 budget.

According to another source, the
President felt physical verification of capital projects by members of the
National Assembly might still be a carry-over of the row between the Executive
and the Legislature over budget implementation.

But the Speaker explained that the
inspection is designed to assist the Jonathan administration to know the true
position of implementation of capital projects.

“We are not out to undermine your
administration or move against you,” the Speaker was quoted as assuring the
President.

The House also agreed to go ahead
with its planned Status Enquiry on Capital Projects in 2012 budget from next
week.

This decision was reached at an
Executive Session yesterday.

A source said: “As part of our
discovery that budget implementation is low, we will begin inspection of
project sites as from next week.

“This inspection will be solely
financed by the House; we won’t take a penny from the Executive. We want to
know whether these MDAs are working on not.

“After the tour, we will be able
to determine the true position on the implementation of the 2012 Budget and
give Nigerians the accurate percentage of execution.

“We want to ascertain the list of
contracts awarded, status of projects and the extent of cash backing.

“This Status Enquiry will also
assist us in considering the 2013 Budget due for presentation by the end of
this month. The era of abandonment of projects is gone. We will not appropriate
funds for abandoned projects.”

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Bar
Association (NBA), yesterday in Abuja, continued its criticisms on the proposed
N5,000 and called on President Goodluck Jonathan to sack the Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and other top management of the
apex bank for their insistence on going ahead to ahead with the controversial
currency reforms.

The NBA also backed the Federal
Government over its stand on the Onshore/Offshore dichotomy noting that the
matter has been settled by the Supreme Court.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria and
President of the NBA, Mr. Okey Wali, made the call for Sanusi’s sack at the
association’s Bar Leaders summit and noted that all indices show that Nigerians
do not want the N5, 000 single note.

Wali observed that even if the
leadership of the CBN are right in their postulation on the benefits of the
proposed currency reforms, they are still bound by the wishes of the people or
they should take the honourable path of resignation rather than exhibiting such
unbridled high level of arrogance and rudeness.

“For all the faults that may be
identifiable in President Goodluck Jonathan, arrogance cannot be said to be one
of his attributes. The NBA is therefore amazed that this high level of
megalomania is going on under his watch. We, therefore, call on the President
to please do the needful, initiate the process of the removal from office of
the leadership of the CBN. On our part we will keep our promise to go to court
to challenge the implementation of the policy should the President fail to
reign in the CBN leadership,” he declared.

On the orchestrated campaign by
some northern governors to resurrect the issue of the onshore / offshore
dichotomy to with a view to seeking for an amendment of the law on 13 per cent
derivation, the NBA president, emphasized that the matter has been settled by
the highest court in the land, the Supreme Court in an action instituted by the
Attorney General of Adamawa state and two others against the Attorney General
of the Federation and eight others in 2005.

He reiterated the call on
government to intensify efforts towards enhancing the safety of lives and
properties in the nation, which he noted, is the foremost responsibility of
government to Nigerians.

A Senior Advocate of Nigeria,
Chief Afe Babalola, whose paper was read at the event by Prof. Akinsheye George
(SAN), called for the appointment of Judges from the rank of Senior Advocates
of Nigeria to ensure that only the most qualified, experienced and knowledgable
practitioners of law are appointed to the bench to make our jurisprudence
better.

Babalola noted that in the past
that judges were highly respected and were regarded with great awe but not
anymore.

“It is now a common sight to find judges
at social occasions. Due to the economic realities of the time which has
affected even judicial officers, it is not uncommon to find Magistrates riding
in taxis and other forms of public transportation. The point being made here is
not that judges and other judicial officers must live in a state of utopia
irrespective of the realities of the day; the point is that these developments
increasingly expose judicial officers to risks from litigants and even accused
persons standing trial before their courts. Little wonder then that claims of
corruption, bias and judicial high-handedness which hitherto were virtually
unknown or unheard of in the country’s judicial system are now a common
phenomena”.