Nobody will be protected from the debt recovery efforts of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Nigerian Senate said through its spokesperson, Ayogu Eze (PDP Enugu State), after the second closed-door meeting in three days with the Governor of the CBN, Lamido Sanusi, on Thursday. The chairperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Farida Waziri, was also present at the meeting.
"We assured him (Sanusi Lamido) that if, in the course of his investigation, he finds that any of us is involved, such a person will be left to face what others are facing." Mr. Eze said. "Nobody will be protected; we did give him that assurance." Neither Mr. Sanusi nor Mrs. Waziri entertained any questions from reporters after the meeting.
The Senate official said after meeting with the CBN governor and the EFCC chairperson behind closed doors and listening to them painstakingly about some of the discoveries they have made, (and) about the methods they have used to achieve the results they achieved, "we are today stating categorically clear that there is nothing that we have found in the process that is against the law. What the EFCC has done is correct and what CBN governor has done is also right in the eyes of the law," Mr. Eze said.
Mr. Eze also said that the Senate has resolved to give the two officials all the legislative backing and infrastructure they may need to battle corruption in the country.
He said: "We are very committed to this fight and we will support them as they go ahead. We are still going to take on the Attorney General of the Federation when he returns and we conclude we are likely going to come up with our final position on what we think should be the way forward in terms of legislative attitude towards these agencies to bringing corruption to a halt.
"The CBN governor has assured us that in spite of the fact that he has received petitions and pressures from notable Nigerians to change the course of his investigations, he has refused to be deflected from the assignment he has set himself upon and we have also resolved to back him all the way." Mr. Eze said.
He said that in spite of the many "lip services" that have been paid to the fight against corruption in the past, the effort of the present crop of anti-corruption fighters appears to have paid off more than any other effort in the history of this country and the Senate is satisfied with this development.
"In one month, about a hundred and something billion was recovered by the EFCC," he said. "In the past, we have seen so much flash and dash, no conviction, no recovery."
Senate doors are open
He, however, said that if any of the affected bankers have issues they are not satisfied with, they can walk up to the Senate to complain, even though the upper chamber has no powers of adjudication.
"This is Nigerians' Senate; if there is any group that is desirous of bringing their case to the Senate, the Senate will entertain it," Mr. Eze said.
The CBN, on Wednesday, released another batch of names of many high profile Nigerians who are heavily indebted to the banks.
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