The Governor of the nation's Central Bank, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, stated yesterday that the bank has traced about 60 shops in Dubai to one of the sacked bank chief executive officers. Mr. Sanusi disclosed this in his presentation at the ninth meeting of the Honorary International Investor Council (HIIC) at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said that efforts are on to recover the property.
"As at this morning, we have been able to trace 45 to 60 shops in Dubai belonging to one of the sacked bank CEOs.
"We are not just following the money, we are also following the property and we are going to pursue everything and bring it back to the country with the support of the international community," Sanusi said.
The CBN governor also disclosed that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will, this week, arraign former Chief Executive Officer of Intercontinental Bank, Erastus Akingbola, who has been on the run. "We have filed the charges in the court and we have also prepared charges against one or two of the management staff of the bank; they will be brought to the court," he added.
He stated government's commitment to pursue the banking reform to a logical conclusion. "For this reform process to succeed, we think it is extremely important for us to pursue the case to a logical conclusion. It is not just about prosecution, it is also about tracing the money that we have not been able to see.
"Some of the money flew out of the country. We have the accounts where some of the money went. We have the banks and the countries," he said. Mr. Sanusi the Council the assurance that the banking sector has been put on a safe track by the reform agenda embarked upon by the administration of President Umaru Yar'Adua. "The banking sector remains a major driver of economic activities. The sector is not in crisis; we have forestalled this. Not a single depositor has lost a penny in any Nigerian bank. No Nigerian bank has defaulted in any of its obligations locally or internationally. The reform we are doing is to avert anticipated crisis in the sector," he said.
Improved microeconomics
Also addressing the Council, the Minister of Finance, Mansur Muhtar, announced that the 2010 Appropriation Bill will be presented to the National Assembly on Thursday. He noted that the Nigerian macro-economic environment has improved in 2009 due to government's pro-active response to the global economic slowdown. He acknowledged that there was poor performance on revenue generation due to the crisis in the Niger Delta region. He, however, said that drawing from excess crude reserves to meet the target in terms of budget releases mitigated the shortfalls. Mr. Mukhtar also acknowledged that as at October, close to 40 per cent of the appropriated fund in the 2009 budget was unspent and still "hovering" in CBN accounts. He said that the Federal Government has sent a proposal to the National Assembly for approval to deploy the unutilised fund to address critical areas that need urgent attention. The Coordinator of the Council, Lynda Chalker, advised that money appropriated for the Niger Delta should be channelled to development projects. She also urged all government officials, particularly governors and ministers, to declare and sustain the war against corruption.
The Vice-President, Goodluck Jonathan, ministers and top foreign and Nigerian businessmen, attended the Council meeting. The News Agency of Nigeria reports the vice-president had earlier explained that the Honorary International Investors Council (HIIC), which started in 2004, was set up to attract global financial players to Nigerian economy.
"The participants are people from across the globe who have been in business all over the world as well as some Nigerians who have also risen to that international level.
"They are to look into Nigeria investment environment, advise on areas to improve on and attract their colleagues all over the world to take interest in investing in Nigeria," he said.
Reader Comments (100)
post a comment
* = Required information