After the meeting, Emir Sanusi declined to comment on what transpired at the meeting, telling State House correspondents that “you can just report that I came to the Villa.”
Sanusi had last December described President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, as lacking the right policies to fix Nigeria’s economy, even as he kicked against borrowing of $30 billion from external sources, warning that the consequences would be grave.
He had said even if the Senate approved the loan, no foreign nation or financial institution, would be willing to grant the country such a loan.
Sanusi had said this in his paper titled, “A plan to restore confidence, direction and growth,” during a policy dialogue organized by an economic think tank, the Savannah Centre for Diplomacy, Democracy and Development.
He had also accused the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, of “illegally” lending to Federal Government”, adding that “the problem of the current government is not having the right policies to fix the current economic woes.”
The former CBN governor argued that for a country that has five exchange rates, it would be difficult for a $30 billion loan request to sail through.
“I can tell you for free,” he said, “if the Senate today approves that we can borrow $30 billion, honestly, no one will lend to us. It should be approved and I will like to see how you will go to the international market with an economy that has five exchange rates.
“There is one rate for petroleum marketers, there is inter-bank rate, there is another for money market operators such as Western Union, MoneyGram, there is bureau de change rate and there is a special rate that you get when you call the CBN for a transaction.
“So who will lend you money when they don’t know your exact reserve and exchange rate? I want to see who will lend you money when the Niger Delta bombing of oil facilities is there, when the main source of the loan repayment is oil.”ads4
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