Lagos — GOVERNOR of the Central Bank, CBN, Mr. Lamido Sanusi, has said that no Nigerian has been mentioned in relation to the $10 million polymer bribery scandal.

He said when the money is eventually traced to Nigeria or to a Nigerian, he would expect the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC, to swing into action.

Sanusi added that many media houses and other Nigerians have called to ask for CBN's position, wanting him to confirm that the said scam took place.

He said at this time when some people are seeking political office, some are looking for what to use against their opponents.

The CBN Governor said no Nigerian has so far been named or accused of taking the said bribe, stressing that no official reaction has come either from CBN or the Federal Government.

Sanusi declared this at a session with Vanguard Editors, in Lagos last Thursday.

According to him, investigations are ongoing and that until names are mentioned, there is nothing any government official can do about it.

He dispelled speculations by some international and local media reports that he has asked the Australian Central Bank to investigate the company that supplied Nigeria the polymer notes and disclose the names of Nigerians that were allegedly bribed by the company.

According to him: "Concerning the polymer issue, I cannot add anything to what I have said about the issue.

"There is a story that says that there is an investigation being carried out on an Australian company, that gave $10 million bribe in connection with the contract for printing polymer notes in Nigeria.

"None of the people mentioned so far, among the recipients of the bribe, are Nigerians. Nobody has said that the bribe was given to somebody in CBN. It said it was given to some top government and political officials in Nigeria.

"As far as I am concerned, at this level, I place them on the same level of accusation that the Governor of the CBN is pursuing a Northern agenda. When they begin to give names, when they trace the money to Nigeria or to a Nigerian, I would expect EFCC to swing into action.

"As I speak to you, to the best of my knowledge, not a single Nigerian has been named in the issue. Is it a true story? I do not know. I think that as they continue tracing the money, they would end up finding where it went."

The immediate past Governor of the apex bank, Professor Chukwuma Soludo, had in an interview with Vanguard in 2006, when CBN was planning to introduce the polymer notes, said: "We are planning or not planning is not the word. The whole issue of this currency policy is evolving include the clean note policy.

"That is part of the master-plan that we are planning. It links also to the design, to the restructure that we mean. The polymer technology is new, and is not being used widely around the world.

"People who advocated the idea do think that is the best thing that has happened while those against it think it is the most horrible thing.

"We, at CBN, are open to examine our actions, but will be guided by what is in the best interest of Nigerians.

"For example, I want to get down to what you said about security features.

"Most people think that the polymer is more difficult to counterfeit than the paper, and that the major reason people are moving to the polymer is because of the security.

"In Chile, they launched it last week, and was the major argument that they had.

"People say the marks can washout because they are plastic. We are open. We are going to have presentations from the various groups.

"If we have any cause to change one side or the other, we will also subject it to serious scrutinising in terms of technology and compatibility with the master-plan that we are developing for the mint.

"The cost-benefit analysis will also be considered. The major reason people call for the polymer is that it is durable, it is plastic and it can last for an average of three to nine years or more. It is also more expensive to print.

"For us, it is going to be another cost-benefit analysis and also given the technology that we have.

"It will cost us a lot of money to begin to redo them. We have spent quite a lot of money to do it better. In short, we are open to proposals but we have to make the best decision for Nigeria.".

Media reports had it that a Reserve Bank of Australia company is under Federal Police investigation for allegedly bribing Nigerian officials to win a bank-note deal in the most serious development yet in the cash-for-contracts scandal.

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