Premium Times was first to
report the scandal in which Mr. Sanusi was accused of abusing his office in
order to advance an amorous relationship with a woman.
Several sources told
SaharaReporters that Premium Times has been under intense pressure from
associates of the CBN Governor since the expose was published. In the wake of
the report, the CBN also issued a widely circulated rebuttal claiming that Ms.
Yaro was never a staff of the bank, that she was employed at Nigeria
Incentive-based Risk Sharing Systems For Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), and
that the governor had no hand in her recruitment.
But records obtained by
SaharaReporters suggest that the bank’s claims are an attempt to muddle up the
facts. NIRSAL, to which Ms. Yaro is attached, is a special purpose vehicle
(SPV) set up by the Federal Government through a partnership between the CBN
and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Besides, the project is domiciled in
the Development Finance Department of the CBN.
More Evidence after the cut,,,,,,,,,,,
It is the CBN’s human
resource department that hires staff for NIRSAL, and it is Mr. Sanusi who approves
all recruitments into the agency, insiders say.
Records available to us
indeed showed that, contrary to the CBN’s claims, Mr. Sanusi directly and
personally approved Ms. Yaro’s recruitment.
Investigations by
SaharaReporters revealed that, after approving Ms. Yaro’s hiring and sending
her file back to the bank’s human resource department, Mr. Sanusi sent a
message to his mistress on June 25, 2012 saying, “I’m in South Africa. I
approved your recruitment last week.”
Ten minutes later, Ms. Yaro
responded: “You have made my day. Thank you so much. Let me know when you are
back.”
When the human resource
department delayed in sending her appointment letter, Ms. Yaro contacted Mr.
Sanusi to complain.
“I have not heard anything
from CBN since you approved my recruitment,” she wrote in a July 9, 2012
message. “Is there anything I need to do?”
A source told
SaharaReporters that, following her complaint, Mr. Sanusi contacted the CBN
human resource department urging them to expedite action on her case.
Eight days later, on July
17, 2012, Ms. Yaro informed Mr. Sanusi that the human resource department had
finally acted on his instruction.
“Allah nguro, I have been
issued my letter of offer,” she said in a message. “Thank you so much. When can
I come and see you?”
When she submitted her
acceptance letter to human resource, Ms. Yaro promptly informed Mr Sanusi and
thanked him again for helping her to get the job.
After Ms. Yaro assumed
duties at the CBN headquarters in Abuja, the human resource department produced
a business card for her. In it she was described as follows: “Dr. Maryam W. Yaro, Nirsal Project
Implementation Office (NPIO), Development Finance Department, Central Bank of
Nigeria.”
Even the documents released
by the CBN are clear as to whether Ms. Yaro could be regarded as a staff of the
CBN, and whether the governor played a role in her recruitment.
For instance, official memos
detailing the processes leading to her recruitment are marked “internal,”
originating from NIRSAL to other units of the bank. Her appointment letter,
written on CBN letterhead, was signed by Chizoba Mojekwu, director, human
resources department of the bank.
The CBN’s so-called rebuttal
did not say why its human resource director would sign an appointment letter
for a staff or consultant of another agency independent of the bank.
In its rebuttal, the bank
provided evidence of communications leading to Ms. Yaro’s employment in 2012,
but provided none relating to any public announcement of the vacancy she
filled. The law requires that such a post must be publicly announced to enable
interested candidates to apply.
The details show that the
bank treated Ms. Yaro’s employment expressly, with memos between NIRSAL office
and CBN’s top management indicating how Mr. Sanusi endorsed her recruitment.
In one document seen by
SaharaReporters, a helpless staff of the bank raised concern about Ms. Yaro’s
recruitment. In a memo requesting Mr. Sanusi’s approval of the recruitment, the
concerned staff minuted: “Please approve as prayed above. We should take into
account diversity in future recruitment.”
In approving the
recruitment, Mr. Sanusi dismissed the staff’s concern, and wrote: “Approved. I
think gender is a good basis for diversity here and candidate is qualified.”
Ms. Yaro’s recruitment
process took a matter of weeks, and she received her letter of offer in July
17, 2012 and promptly communicated same to the CBN boss while also informing
him of her planned date of assumption of duties.
Some sources within the CBN
suggested to SaharaReporters that some of the documents circulated by the CBN
were forged and backdated as a face-saving measure. However, SaharaReporters
was unable to independently confirm the allegation.
SaharaReporters learned that
the details of the affair between Mr. Sanusi and Ms. Yaro have stirred anger
and outrage within the bank and beyond. Critics have focused on the fact that
Mr. Sanusi, a public officer, traveled on jets funded by taxpayers to keep
appointments with Ms. Yaro at expensive hotels. Until this scandal broke, Mr.
Sanusi was highly respected even if some of his policies, like doling cash to
victims of terrorist attacks in Kano, were controversial.
Mr. Sanusi led revolutionary
reforms in the banks when he came on board in 2009 and has remained critical
and outspoken on several government policies despite serving in the
administration. He has also repeatedly advocated adherence to the rule of law.
On the other hand, Mr.
Sanusi has had his defenders. Many of these defenders have brushed aside
glaring evidence of misconduct by Nigeria’s chief banker, instead accusing news
reporters who worked on the story of witch-hunting Mr. Sanusi and attempting to
defame him.
Senior officials of Premium
Times said they expected the backlash, even as they stated that they stood
firmly by their story. “We knew the story was going to shock a lot of people,”
said Idris Akinbajo acting managing editor at the publication. “We were under
no illusion that it would take a lot of time for many to swallow the bitter
truth of the revelations made in the story.” He added, “We have discharged our
responsibility of providing information we believe citizens need in order to
hold officials accountable.
Mr. Akinbajo continued, “Our
job is done, as we will only continue to provide additional information as
necessary. It is left for Nigerians to either demand accountability or live
without it – and so continue to celebrate the indiscretions of their leaders.”
The executive added: “We
stand firmly by our story and look forward to the moment the CBN Governor will
boldly look Nigerians in the face and say any of the things we reported did not
happen.”
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