Get Your Facts Right – Presidency Tells Sanusi

SAN FRANCISCO, December 04, (THEWILL) – Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, has declared that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), did not have the facts on the issues over which he criticised President Muhammadu Buhari's administration.

Sanusi had, on Friday , said the Buhari administration lacked the right policies to fix Nigeria's economy, even as he warned of grave consequences of borrowing $30bn from external sources.

He had stated that even if the Senate approved the loan, no foreign nation or financial institution would be willing to accede to the country's loan request.

Responding to the Emir via his official Twitter account, Shehu, who hails from Kano, added that the borrowing is for projects that includes the railway development in Sanusi's Kano.

“With every respect to the Emir, you know he is my ruler, because I come from Kano. He doesn't have his facts as far as those issues are concerned,” Shehu stated.

“The issue in CBN, that government has overdrawn its Central Consolidated Account is true, but it is within limits.

“The overdraw does not exceed 1.5 trillion. It is incorrect to say, as he did that the account was overdrawn by 4.5 trillion.

“But even assuming that he was correct. This is a govt that has money in excess the amount he mentioned in the Treasury Single Account,

“It is just like you, a bank customer operating two accounts, one in the red & the other, well-funded to the point that it can at any time wipe the indebtedness on the other. Would any bank manager lose their sleep over this?

“This, I am told is what the IMF found at the CBN and they said it is perfectly normal.

“As for his opposition to the USD 30 billion loan, I am aware that the Minister of Finance is responding to that.

“As a private citizen, I want to read his statement again.

“I thought that the borrowing is for projects that include the railway development in Kano, his own city.”

Story by Oputah David