Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Professor Charles Soludo, has slammed former president Goodluck Jonathan for running the Central Bank of Nigeria like a movie from Uganda under former president Idi Amin Dada.
Idi Amin ruled Uganda between 1971 and 1979 and has been described as one of the most corrupt African rulers.
Soludo said: “Imagine a scenario where a president can order the CBN to create an Intervention Fund for national stability and CBN literally ‘prints’ say, N3 trillion, and doles it out cash to the Presidency to prosecute an election campaign or for just about anything he fancies. It is a scary thought.
“We are going down a dangerous path that ruins the economy. I don’t know any other country where such is tolerated, except, perhaps, what I watched in a movie about Idi Amin and his Central Bank governor.”
In an interview in the current business edition of The Interview, the former CBN governor described the bank as “the ATM of the Presidency,” under Jonathan.
He said it was regrettable that in spite of the bank’s statutory independence, it continues to be a victim of high-wire politics, often “electrocuting” the bank’s leadership.
Soludo added: “Recent revelations regarding the ‘arms-gate’ and the apparent abuse of the CBN as ATM by the Presidency should get reasonable people thinking.”
The former CBN governor was one of the 10 leading business lights featured in the current edition of The Interview, which provides insights into opportunities and threats in business this year, ranging from manufacturing and power, to banking and investment, small businesses, advertising and jobs.
A statement by the Managing Director/Editor-In-Chief of The Interview, Mr. Azuu Ishiekwene, described the edition as “the essential business tool for 2016.”