The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has reacted to media reports on its Govenor, Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, claiming that he recruited his alleged girlfriend/mistress, Mrs Maryam Yaro, into the institution based on the romantic relationship between them.
attention has been drawn to the libelous story posted on your website on 2nd
June, 2013, on the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), and which has
now been circulated by other online websites and blogging groups.
“The post was full of fabrication and inaccuracies. Ordinarily this would have
been best ignored. We are however constrained to write to you on account of the
severe implications of the allegations for the integrity of the CBN, as an
institution.
“It is also important to reaffirm our long-standing commitment to due process
and international best practice in the discharge of every aspect of our
statutory mandate.
“We wish to state that CBN is an equal opportunity employer, which prides
itself with having female members of staff that possess the highest
qualifications, competencies and skills. It is rather reprehensible for anyone
to cast such aspersions on the qualifications and integrity of our female
staff.
“In the publication, you made the following false allegations:
“That Dr. Maryam Yaro is a staff of the CBN at the level of Assistant Director
and that she was recruited without due process, as she was not qualified for
the role.
“That the CBN Governor introduced Dr Yaro to the CBN and exerted pressure on
the Human Resources Department to recruit her.
“We wish to state the fact as follows:
“Dr Maryam Yaro is not, and has never been an employee of the Central Bank of
Nigeria. She was one of four consultants (three of whom were male), hired by
the Nigeria Incentive-based Risk-sharing System for Agricultural Lending
(NIRSAL) Plc; on a one year contract, renewable on the basis of satisfactory
performance. NIRSAL Plc is a special purpose vehicle (SPV) set up by the
Federal Government of Nigeria, through a partnership between the CBN and the
Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).
“In the course of establishing NIRSAL, the Hon. Minister of State for
Agriculture and Rural Development, through a formal letter, recommended Dr Yaro
to participate in the project as a Specialist on Rural Finance Access.
“Dr Yaro was hired after a rigorous selection process conducted by the NIRSAL
Project Implementation Office. This clearly contradicts the claim that Dr Yaro
was brought in by the CBN Governor.
“Contrary to allegation that the Governor expedited recruitment of Dr Yaro, the
PIO’s recommendation to hire her as a Consultant was written on March 30, 2012
but only received final approval on June 20, 2012.
“It is pertinent to add that Dr Yaro’s academic qualifications and experience
eminently qualify her for the job. She is a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine
(DVM), who speaks three Nigerian languages, and has extensive experience
working with farmers across the country on different agricultural programmes.
She has also been a consultant to the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO);
and was one of the experts working in the National Programme on Food Security
before she was engaged by NIRSAL.
“Please find attached, the relevant documents in support of the facts stated
above and we hope you will give this the same publicity you gave your initial
story.
“We have noted that the other allegations in the post border on the person of
the CBN Governor and are consistent with previous attacks. In line with the
Governor’s usual practice of not responding to these libelous comments on his
person, we have decided not to respond.
“The CBN shall remain resolute in the pursuit of its statutory mandates
regardless of any attempt to distract the institution or its officers.
CBN Director, Corporate Communications,
Ugochukwu A Okoroafor
