How I Exposed Sanusi Private Letter to Jonathan – Amaechi
The minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi has confessed that he exposed the private letter written by former governor of the Central Bank Nigeria (CBN) and Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido to former President Goodluck Jonathan.
Amaechi who disclosed this in Lagos during the roundtable discussion organised by the Business Eye, DailyPost reports.
He noted that the federal government would investigate the missing $49bn oil revenue which was not remitted to the federation account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) by the former CBN governor.
He said: “Even before Sanusi and President Goodluck Jonathan began to quarrel, I had to leak that letter. Sanusi wrote that letter to the President in September, I leaked it sometime in January, and that letter was personal: ‘Mr. President, $49bn was missing,’ and I got a copy of that letter.”
“Instead of the federal government to say we are going to address this, they began to debate with the CBN governor and Nigerians joined in the debate. Oh, it is not possible. Now, they have seen that it’s possible.”
Amaechi further stated that there was no provision for subsidy in the 2016 budget maintaining that President Muhammadu Buhari does not support the removal of subsidy.
He said: “if you know the president, he doesn’t support removal of subsidies, we are not saying it but you know it is there.
“We are not saying oil subsidy has been removed, but check it in the budget; it is not there so where would he pay from. And if you know the president very well he would not spend anything outside the budget.”
In his reaction, the managing director, Financial Derivatives Company Limited, Bismarck Rewane who blamed the current economic crisis facing Nigeria on the exchange rates stated the government should make policies that would make the country compete favorably with other nations of the world.
He said: “There must be incentive for businesses and policy maker should not penalize people willingly but encourage collective responsibility, ensure that the country is competitive because if other countries are doing it you have to do better if not you will most be a destination for investment.”
The exchange rate when the oil price was $114 cannot be the same exchange rate policy when the price of oil is $30. Exchange rate and interest rate policy when the yield was $91 per barrel cannot be the same when the yield is $5 per barrel. What is missing is monetary strategy which has to be reinforced,” Rewane added.
Meanwhile, Rotimi Amaechi has received the 2015 Igbo Man of the Year Award conferred on him by the Ohanaeze Youth Council on Thursday, January 15.
Read more gists here: Home