Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, and Niger Delta elder, Professor Tam David West has called President Jonathan’s sack of erstwhile CBN Governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi, a political suicide and a great miscalculation.
Speaking to Nation reporters, West said, “The suspension of the CBN Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, is one of the worst political mistakes President Goodluck Jonathan has made. It was a great miscalculation. It is like a political suicide because his tenure ends in May which is around the corner. He should have allowed him to complete his tenure.
“When the Central Bank Governor of a country is humiliated like this, it usually has negative impact on the currency of the country in the global monetary market. It reflects the instability of the government. It also impacts negatively on the economy.
“On the political scene, Sanusi is not a small fry. He has a very powerful political base in the country. Sanusi is loved and admired by many people across Nigeria. Sanusi has made Nigeria proud. He has been decorated over 10 times as one of the best Central Bank Governors in the world. Nigeria should commend him instead of humiliating him. This won’t do President Jonathan any good. It amounts to political suicide for him.
“Sanusi has been a whistle-blower. Without Sanusi, Nigerians would not have known that the NNPC was not remitting billions of Dollars to the Federation Account. The actual amount is immaterial. Between $10 and $20 billion is said to yet to be accounted for up till now. He deserves national honour, not national humiliation. This won’t be in Jonathan’s interest with respect to the 2015 election.”
“It reminds me of the case of Justice Isa Salami of the Court of Appeal who was removed because it was suspected that he would give the right judgment whenever Gen. Mohammadu Buhari approached the appellate court in petition over presidential election. Salami is one of the greatest upright judges in the country.”