On Thursday, President Goodluck Jonathon removed Lamido Sanusi from his position as the governor of Nigeria's central bank. After repeatedly claiming that billions of dollars in oil revenue were missing, the governor was finally removed from his post. Unfortunately, this latest episode was just more indication of widespread corruption within the Nigerian government, and the government's weakening measures in dealing with these issues. In addition to Mr. Sanusi's removal, series of accusations of misspending by high officials and the presidential pardon last year for a governor accused of stealing millions have caused news outlets to further highlight these corrupt acts. Thus, Mr. Sanusi's dismissal was met with distress in financial markets. For instance, the stock market fell sharply, and the value of the naira (the Nigerian currency) was dropped to a record low before the bank intervened. To make matters worse, oil revenue accounts for 95% of the country's total export earnings, which Mr. Sanusi has been stating for months was "missing" from public coffers. Therefore, when oil goes missing, "it touches a nerve in Nigeria." In an attempt to cover his tracks, Mr. Sanusi has even accused the national oil company of illegal and unconstitutional acts, which was unsurprisingly met with denial and outrage from the company.
http://search.proquest.com/nationalnewsexpanded/docview/1500670138/8223BBD91C554DF4PQ/14?accountid=44854
Amanda Ngo
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment