Sanusi, replies Jonathan’s query, defends bank’s multibillion naira spending!

The suspended Central Bank governor, Sanusi Lamido, has defended his bank against allegations of spending billions on extensive loans, staff emoluments, and maintenance of devices.

In suspending Mr. Sanusi last week, President Jonathan accused the CBN governor of “financial recklessness”.

PREMIUM TIMES reported exclusive details of the president’s second query to Mr. Sanusi early 2013, in which Mr. Jonathan demanded prompt clarification on key spending in excess of a trillion naira. The president’s query followed the submission of the CBN’s audit report by Mr. Sanusi to the president on February 26, 2013.

The president claimed in his letter that Mr. Sanusi’s swift response on the issues raised would be helpful in providing proper “appreciation of the nation’s economic outlook”. It was, however, Mr. Sanusi’s reply that the president forwarded to the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, on whose recommendation the president said it relied to suspend the embattled governor.

In the 22-point query, the Mr. Jonathan demanded amongst other things, the domestic report on the CBN’s 2012 financial statements by external auditors and the financial reporting framework under which the financial statements were prepared.

He also directed the CBN governor to provide names of the trustees of the CBN’s self-insurance, including the board minutes approving the said self-insurance scheme and trustees and the entries of the annual appropriations indicating where it was posted in the financial statements.

Mr. Sanusi was also directed to explain the composition of CBN’s gratuity of N72.653 billion in 2012 and N64, 280 billion in 2011 and how it was determined as well as the board minutes and approval practice of making provisions for internal currency insurance based on the premium that would have been payable to external insurers had they been engaged. The president also wanted names of the insurance companies that were filed tested in the exercise and the modalities thereof.

The president also demanded the justification for the “Repairs and maintenance expenses” of N2.268 billion in 2012 and N2.070 billion in 2011 and the extent of repairs of printing machines and intervention activities of N19 billion in 2012 and N23.865 billion in 2011 as well as the administration of expenses of N42.596 billion and N48.340 billion in 2011.

This newspaper learnt that the query raised by the president contained basically the same questions that the Financial Reporting Council had asked CBN’s auditors who had sent a copy of the audit report to it.

The auditors, Ernst and Young and Pricewaterhousecoopers had responded to the questions, attaching relevant documents to back their submissions.

Those familiar with the matter said it therefore came as a surprise to the CBN when the president wrote to Mr. Sanusi asking the same questions to which the auditors had provided “satisfactory answers”.

Our sources said in responding to the president, the CBN governor simply reproduced and forwarded the same answers that the auditors provided to the Financial Reporting Council.

In his response to the president, obtained exclusively by PREMIUM TIMES, Mr. Sanusi said the repairs and maintenance expenses relate to “general office equipment and ICT maintenance”. The letter is dated May 20, 2013, two weeks after the president’s query.

The CBN governor said about 92 percent of the maintenance expenses were for information and communication technology equipments. The CBN does not have printing machines, he said.

On why he granted N50.06 billion as loan to Wema Bank and another N500 billion to Asset Management Company of Nigeria, AMCON, the CBN governor said the loans were necessary because AMCON was sustaining “heavy losses” while WEMA was still having liquidity challenges.

He said the bank was working to recover the loans.

On the composition of the CBN’s N72.65 billion gratuity in 2012 and N64.28 billion in 2011, Mr. Sanusi said employees of CBN are entitled to gratuity payments after completing five continuous full years of service with the bank.

He said the gratuity is computed based on the number of years of service, gratuity rate, and gross emoluments for final year of service.

The CBN governor, defended his spending of N19 billion in 2012 and N23.865 billion in 2011 as “intervention activities” of the bank, saying the funds were channelled to critical sectors of the economy.

“These activities were carried out as part of the bank’s developmental role,” he said.

Court hears Sanusi’s suit March 21!

A Federal High Court in Lagos on Friday fixed March 21 to hear a motion filed by the suspended  Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, seeking enforcement of his fundamental right.

Lamido had filed the suit through his counsel, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo (SAN), seeking an order restraining the police and officers of the State Security Service (SSS) from arresting, detaining or otherwise harassing him.

Joined as first to third respondents in the suit are: The Attorney General of the Federation, Inspector General of Police and the SSS.

When the case was mentioned on Friday, Justice Ibrahim Buba adjourned it to March 21 for hearing, following an application for adjournment moved by counsel to all the respondents.

Counsel to the AGF, Dr Oscar Nliam, holding the brief of Chief Mike Ozekhome (SAN), informed the court that his office had just been briefed on the matter.

He told the court that they were yet to receive all the processes filed by the applicant, and therefore prayed the court for a short adjournment to enable him collate all processes.

Counsel representing the I-G, Mr Chukwu Agwu, on his part, informed the court that he was only notified last night by his boss from the Force Headquarters that the suit will be coming up in court.

He said that the second respondent was yet to receive the processes and also prayed the court for an adjournment to enable him look at the processes when they arrive.

In the same vein, counsel representing the SSS, Mr Ahmed Musa, also aligned himself with the submissions of his colleagues, adding that an adjournment will be to their favour especially as parties were still within time of filing.

Counsel representing the applicant, Mr Kola Awodehin (SAN), did not object to the prayers for adjournment, but noted that the suit bordered on fundamental rights enforcement and ought to be dealt with expeditiously.

Justice Buba, however, in a short ruling, adjourned the case to March 21 for hearing.

The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that the court had on Feb. 21, granted an interim order of injunction, restraining the respondents from arresting, detaining or harassing the applicant, pending the determination of the motion on notice.

The interim order was sequel to an affidavit of urgency filed by the applicant on the same date.

The court had also granted the applicant leave to serve the originating summons and other accompanying court processes on the respondents.

Culled from Punch news papars

Medical examiner rules that Philip Seymour Hoffman died of overdose!

According to reports, the 46-year-old star said in interviews last year that he had sought treatment for a heroin problem after 23 years of sobriety.

A spokeswoman for the medical examiner said Friday that Hoffman died from a mix of heroin, cocaine, amphetamines and benzodiazepines, which are psychoactive drugs such as Librium.

The death was ruled an accident.

Kim Kardashian Wants Three Kids; Talks "Super, Super Small, Intimate" Wedding!

Sounds like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have decided that bigger isn't always better. The couple are scaling back their wedding plans and instead arranging for a "super, super small" ceremony in Paris later this year, the bride-to-be told Ryan Seacrest on his KISS FM radio show on Tuesday, Feb. 25.

"We're having a super, super small, intimate wedding," she told the Keeping Up With the Kardashians producer. "As we go along, we're realizing we want it to be smaller and more intimate than people are imagining and thinking."

culled

Khloe Kardashian shows off 'Behind The Scenes Cosmo Exclusive'!

Khloe shows off her Behind The Scenes Cosmo Exclusive as she twits: 
"Hey dolls!! So excited for the release of my April COSMO cover, which hits newsstands this Tuesday (March 4th)!!! In the meantime though, you can see an exclusive behind the scenes video of me at the shoot!

Can’t wait to hear what you think and don’t forget to pick up the issue March 4th!!! XOXO".

Diogo Morgado's role in new film sparked argument!

Diogo Morgado played Jesus in the new film "Son of God", where the color of 

Jesus' skin has sparked heated debate for centuries. 




Many think Diogo Morgado is one hot dude and his Jesus looks more like Brad Pitt than the nice man with the beard in all those paintings. 

CNN took a look at some different interpretations of the man from 

Nazareth. 

 In line with this thought, Carol Costello bares her mind thus: 



"Clearly Jesus was sexy. After all, He is the Son of God. I don't mean to be disrespectful, but as I watched the trailer for the new movie, "Son of God," I found myself gawking at the actor portraying Jesus".

But Rev. Robert B. Lawton, SJ, a Jesuit priest and former president of Loyola Marymount University tends to disagree with Carol, "There is absolutely no indication that Jesus was good-looking and sexy. In fact there is a passage in the prophet Isaiah that is taken as referring to Jesus. It says this: 



"He had no form or majesty that we should look at him/nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account." (Isaiah 53. 2-3.) He said.

While this might not be conclusive evidence, it's quite possible that Jesus was no Jewish Brad Pitt from Palestine. 

On the other hand, why wouldn't God create a perfect Son? 

"Anything that is sexy is going to attract people. People who might not go to the movie might want to check it out, particularly non-Christians," says Rev. Lisa Jenkins, senior pastor of St. Matthew's Baptist Church in Harlem. 

"I don't see a problem with Jesus being attractive given our cultural context," she says. "I don't recall a Jesus who was not appealing to the eye. That's Hollywood."



Jenkins is more concerned about what she considers an inaccurate portrayal of Jesus' ethnicity. 



The Rev. James Martin, SJ, editor-at-large for America Magazine, and author of the coming book, "Jesus: A Pilgrimage," agrees. 



"God did not choose to incarnate himself in Laguna Beach," he says. 

"He chose to incarnate Himself at a certain place, at a certain time in a certain person." And that person was a Palestinian Jew. 

"Many people have a hard time with the humanity of Jesus ... the closer He is to human physical perfection, the easier it is for some to accept Him."

Martin added, there is danger in that. A physically perfect Jesus makes Him into a God pretending to be man. When Jesus was both human and divine. 

"He was like us in all things, except sin, as the theology goes,"

"That means, He had a body, He got sick, He got tired, He may have sprained an ankle or two. There are passages in the Gospel showing Him falling asleep because He was tired. We tend to airbrush the physical imperfections away." he said.

The actor reportedly told The New York Times he doesn't want his looks to distract from the movie...




but, "If the message of Jesus was love, hope and compassion, and I can bring that to more people by being a more appealing Jesus, I am happy with that."

Boko - haram onslaught in Adamawa!

Thirty seven people were reportedly killed in Adamawa, north-east Nigeria by men suspected to be members of the Boko Haram Islamic militant sect.

This came a day after about fifty students of Federal Government College, Yobe were massacred by members of the terrorist group.

Reports from Adamawa suggest that the militants staged three separate attacks on innocents citizens in Shuwa, Kirchinga and Michika. A theological college was also affected in the deadly attack. 

According to information received, the gunmen divided themselves into three groups and separately attacked the three locations.

In Shuwa, several buildings were burnt, including a Christian theological college and a section of a secondary school. 

A local resident, Kwaje Bitrus, said three bodies were recovered from the seminary and a total of 20 were killed in and around the village. 

In Kirchinga, it was said that the gunmen were all dressed in military uniform — a tactic frequently employed by the militant fighters in previous, similar attacks. 

In a statement, the military confirmed the attacks on multiple communities in Adamawa but said that only one soldier and three civilians were killed. Troops repelling the raids also killed six suspected Islamists, according to the statement. 

The military further claimed that the militants, “in desperation for money and food…looted and burnt banks (and) shops”, and were trying to escape across the Cameroon border. 

The top military commander in Adamawa last week ordered that the state’s border with Cameroon be sealed to block Boko Haram’s purported escape routes. 

Residents in Michika described earlier how people fled to the nearby foothills when the attackers arrived in four-wheeled drive trucks and on motorcycles.

Michika resident Abdul Kassim said militants arrived at about 9:30 pm (2030 GMT) on Wednesday, “armed with RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and explosives which they hurled indiscriminately at homes and public buildings”.

The attack reportedly lasted for more than four hours. Various residents said four banks were razed, as well as hundreds of shops, a police station, government buildings and dozens of homes. 

One witness, who requested anonymity, said the village looked like a “war zone” and that some 90 percent of all businesses had been destroyed.

The military and police however declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

Adamawa is one of three northeastern states placed under emergency rule in May 2013 following waves of Boko Haram attacks. 

The top military commander in the state last week ordered the complete closure of the border with Cameroon in hope of blocking the movements of insurgents and weapons. 

The ongoing military offensive has failed to crush the insurgency and nearly 300 people is believed to have  been killed in a range of attacks already this year.

The United Nations meanwhile said on Thursday that nearly 300,000 people, more than half of them children, had fled their homes in the three states between May 2013 and  January 1st 2014, because of the violence.