“Resign, appoint new petroleum minister” — Sanusi tells Tinubu

Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, has advised President Bola Tinubu to resign his position as petroleum minister and appoint someone else.

Sanusi gave the charge in Abuja at the opening of the 2023 Bank Directors’ Summit with the theme: “Emerging Issues: Navigating the Complex Balance Between Regulation and Compliance”, which was organised by the Bank Directors Association of Nigeria (BDAN).

Politics Nigeria reports that President Tinubu had adopted his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari’s style of heading the petroleum ministry since he assumed office in May 2024.

But Sanusi, who is also the 14th Emir of Kano, argued that appointing a substantive minister of petroleum would help check the excesses of the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

“By the way, let me advise you that the idea of the president becoming a petroleum minister is not a good one,” Sanusi declared.

“The last president [Buhari] was the minister of petroleum for eight years. When I was governor of the Central Bank, we had a minister of petroleum, so when I talked about the NNPCL, I could attack Diezani Madueke.

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“Now, nobody can talk about petroleum because for eight years, if you talk, you have been attacking the president. We need that buffer; somebody has to be there. So, a minister who is held accountable by Nigerians has to be there,” he said.