There appears to be no end to this debacle as another twist has emerged in the ongoing saga. .Is this to cause panic?Why would reps order bailout money withdrawn from the banks? Are we yet to see the end of this plan by the FG for whatever purpose?

The Deputy Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Drugs, Narcotics and Financial Crimes, Hon Bassey Etim, has urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, to return the N400 billion given the five distressed banks to the national treasury without further delay.

Etim who spoke to journalists at the National Assembly, said the immediate return of the fund was the only way to stem the wave of criticisms trailing the release of the fund to the ailing banks.

The Northern caucus of the House had on Sunday asked Sanusi to seek immediate ratification of the fund by the National Assembly to mitigate the breach of the constitution.

Etim argued that since the N400 billion was not appropriated by the National Assembly, it was wrong for any one to talk of ratification by the National Assembly on an issue that never existed.

The lawmaker said that there was no doubt that the action of the CBN in doling out the fund without approval of the legislature breached provisions of the constitution. The National Assembly, he said, appropriates expenditures of federal ministries, departments and agencies.

He said: "The funds as released to the banks did not pass through due diligence, considering the position of the law. There was absolute disregard for the legislature, so we believe the CBN Governor would respect the rule of law and ensure that the N400 billion is returned to the nation’s treasury.

"The Constitution is the guiding principle for lawmakers and any thing outside of the provisions of the Constitution is regarded as illegal and unacceptable to the legislature. The fund should be returned for the National Assembly to debate how much the Federal Government should release to bailout ailing commercial banks.

"We also want the CBN Governor to remember that the same provisions of the Constitution which he abused by unilaterally doling out the fund to the banks without input by the National Assembly, brought him as Governor of the apex bank."

Etim, said that the National Assembly should not be treated as a rubber stamp, "where its responsibility would be usurped by the Executive, only to refer to it after perpetuating illegality."

The Deputy Chairman noted that if the breach was left unattended, "with time, the national budget may no longer pass through the National Assembly for appropriation."

Sanusi, he insisted "should not make himself a player and umpire at the same time because there are three arms of government working towards the same goal."

Source: http://thenationonlineng.net/web2/articles/16555/1/Rep-urges-CBN-to-return-N400b-bailout-fund-to-treasury-/Page1.html

So this guy never consulted the House of Assembly. I thought he went to school. Or has he not been close to a democratic govt? This is a democratic flaw. He wants to do both the work of the executive and the legislature. The idea is right but the method is wrong and on that note I doubt his motive.

na wa for nigeria. . .in my opinion this is still part of a script to cause panic and make the public see reason to invite foreign acquisition. . . .Sanusi lamido Sanusi,I hope you and yaradull dont eventually sell our country to saudi arabia.

The guy (Sanusi) is like a bull in a China shop. His moves are too suspect!
He does need to explain where he got that money!

House of Assembly must recieve their cut from any deal that goes down. If you wanna approve N420bn for the banks, you must first give them N20bn to share amongst themselves. If you want third term, you must first give them N100bn for them to change the law. Bloody bunch of crooks.

Is the House not on recess?

OK!!! According to the BOFIA rules quoted as reason for his actions, He ought to have gotten approval from the president before proceeding. If Sanusi did get authorization from the president, shouldn't they direct this at Yar adua?

return the money to treasury?

I thought the money was printed


these deputy reps self, one minute the committe on banking support the move next minute
the committe on narcotics want his 3 minutes of fame

This "printing" money theory is getting me all speechless and dumbfounded.

Cant wait to hear the view of my great friend, Jarus, on this 'quantative easing' (Sanusi style)

These people would never seize to amuse people with their pronouncements  that would never be carried out.

Dis Guy:

return the money to treasury?

I thought the money was printed


these deputy reps self, one minute the committe on banking support the move next minute
the committe on narcotics want his 3 minutes of fame

I doubt the money was printed. It would cost Nigeria more than 400 billion naira to print 400 billion naira.
Knowing the idiots in power, you may be right.

A-town:

I doubt the money was printed. It would cost Nigeria more than 400 billion naira to print 400 billion naira.
Knowing the idiots in power, you may be right.

Central Banks can create money by fiat.  All they have to say, basically, is, "I the central bank hereby give you 400 billion naira" and that is that.  It's just figures in a computer.  The only cost is inflation.

When will dis film end

This deputy speaker is just crazy.thats all!!! was he deaf or dead wen the banks were going down the drain.I dnt trust him perhaps he needs his own cut from the money injected into the distressed banks

Well, if the CBN governor can print N400B in just 2 months on the job without any recourse to the constitution then I think this man needs to be monitored closely otherwise we may wake up one day to realize that he just printed only N50B that was sent to his house.

On this issue the law makers are in order. You cannot commit another crime in the name of tackling one.

One of Soludo's many sins was taking actions 'unilaterally' without telling the president and or the national assembly on issues where he enjoyed autonomy.

Somethings gonna blow, big time! I first questioned the actions of "General" Sanusi when he had to reach back several years to a military decree from IBB's time to shut down the top 5 banks.

Lamido Sanusi's agenda
There was no crisis in the Nigerian banking industry before Friday, August 14, 2009, as none of the banks had failed to meet its obligations to its depositors. This crisis was imposed on it.

What we are witnessing is a campaign of propaganda by the Central Bank with the intention to forcefully change the ownership structure of Nigerian banks.

Please note the following points:
• Why hurry to wield the axe, when the audit has not been conducted in all Nigerian banks to enable Sanusi gain a comprehensive picture of the situation in the industry? The weakest bank in Nigeria, Unity Bank, has not even been audited. Soludo's CBN granted N70 billion to Unity last year without sacking its CEO or management.

• The debtors' list has proved to be sheer propaganda as the loans are mostly actually performing.

• Why did Sanusi not publish debts owed by government ministries, agencies and parastatals? They are actually the biggest and most notorious debtors - either directly or through contractors who handle public project. For example, Transcorp is owing Union Bank N41 billion, but the government is yet to refund the purchase price of NITEL to the company after the Federal Government reversed the privatisation of the telecom company this year. Another important group of bank debtors are the importers of petroleum products. They say the government is owing them nearly N100 billion in subsidy reimbursement. So, this means that if the government that wants to rescue the banks fulfills its responsibility to those it is owing, the problems of the banks will be much lighter.

• Why did Sanusi not invite the boards of the audited banks to show them the results of the so-called audit and them how they think they could solve the identified problems; for example, giving them a deadline to recapitalise? The practice all over the world is to fist demand that the existing shareholders meet the capital adequacy requirement. It is only where they are not able to raise the required capital that forced intervention by the regulators takes place.

• Imagine that Sanusi is already saying he would like to sell the banks! After only one week of taking them over? That would be a world record in Central Bank intervention.

I advise Nigerians to learn a thing or two about Mr. Lamido Sanusi by reading the articles he wrote in the recent past. Please check. Then you will know where this man is coming from.

The CBN's powers of intervention are to enable the government protect depositors and creditors of banks. The laws are not meant to enable the government do what it is presently doing: confiscating the legitimate properties of citizens. The schemers at play want to confiscate these banks from their rightful owners and award them to members of their ethnic group, the Fulani. Curiously, the EFCC is now going after the banks' chiefs. This is a strategy to intimidate them into submission. What has the EFCC got to do with bank loans? Loan default is not a criminal offence in any legal system. This is all propaganda. The so called sanusi should fear Allah.

^Good points, but we keep hearing about Sanusi's articles. Why not post links or quotations.

Abi de articles no dey exist?

Seun:

Central Banks can create money by fiat. All they have to say, basically, is, "I the central bank hereby give you 400 billion naira" and that is that. It's just figures in a computer. The only cost is inflation.

I am aware of that, hence my assumption that the money wasn't printed.
Although, i think you may be wrong in this case since it appears hard currency is involved.

We all knew how many weeks it took the US house to approve the $700 billion bailout bill for their banks,
But only In Nigeria that someone will jst wake up one morning and declare 5banks in distress and inject N400billion overnight without consulting the House of assembly, even if they were on reccess,
In fact in the first place there is nothing like check and balances within the 3 arms of Government in Nigeria so why are we gettign worried abt this,
The most painful part of it is that some youths who supposed to be the futures of that country will still come here and give us reasons why he is right in his decision,
Whether the money is being printed or from national treasury we really need critically examine this guy's move.
Like the deputy chairman already said is very unfair for some one to be a player and at the same time a referee,

I know that proper steps were not taken before the CBN injected 400 billion naira into the banks, but when had the right steps ever taken in Nigeria?. Sanusi was following past precedence. Why did the house not ask Soludo, where he got the billions to bail out Intercontinental bank last year?. where did CBN get the money it places in the Expanded discount window.

It is now that a National assembly who collects billions with little work to show for it beside the yearly ritual of appropriation have woken up from their 10 year slumber.

princekevo:

We all knew how many weeks it took the US house to approve the $700 billion bailout bill for their banks,
But only In Nigeria that someone will jst wake up one morning and declare 5banks in distress and inject N400billion overnight without consulting the House of assembly, even if they were on reccess.

Ol' boy, forget Naija House of Reps abeg. Can they pass any bill expediently without having their palms greased? If they had half the integrity of the US House of Reps, I for gree with your point, but the nuccas in our House of Reps would understand the vagaries of how money supply affects inflation if they did a PHD in Economics. The only money supply they know is how much is going into their pockets to pass this bill.

Imagine House of Reps who fight each other over the allocation of Jeeps, and a speaker of the House who believes that Nigerians do not deserve Education, abi na electricity wey him talk. I don forget. Anyway, phock the House of Reps.

My question to this post is why would the CBN withdraw money from national treasure without the legislature's notice? Unless if the guy is up to something, Nigerian govt na waaa

Na wa. . . .so many intelligent people in nigeria and we have illeterates and dumb people running our federal government. . .I think the youths need to get more involved in politics.

Everything seems suspicious and i think something is fishy in this whole drama.Are they just knowing now that they were not consulted. What have they been doing all these while? is it now they want to complain. Fucking bastards and criminals

holymike47:

Everything seems suspicious and i think something is fishy in this whole drama.Are they just knowing now that they were not consulted. What have they been doing all these while? is it now they want to complain. Fucking bastards and criminals

They were on recess and I think they are still on recess or something so I heard.

this is drama upon drama

House of reps my foot. I believe the federal gov. Of nig. Has metamophorsed into an avenue for a larger conspiracy. From the crippled educational system(A.A.S.U) to epileptic power supply. And now to our financial sector God help the lowly masses. These guys tend to forget that they won't live forever.

everytime we say youth should take over, but i guess we have youth as the speaker of the house, the guy is less 40 & yet to me, he has championed any course in that government. strike is there nothing to say about it.