Nigeria Central Bank Independence at Risk With Sanusi Ousted

The independence of Nigeria’s central bank may be the biggest casualty of President Goodluck Jonathan’s suspension of Governor Lamido Sanusi, who has worked to build policy credibility in Africa’s biggest oil producer.

The naira slumped to a record low yesterday, trading in the bond market was halted and the benchmark stock index fell to its weakest level in three months. Jonathan said he suspended Sanusi, 52, four months before his term ends because of what he said was “financial recklessness and misconduct.” Sanusi’s disclosure since December of billions of dollars of allegedly missing oil revenue has stoked criticism that Jonathan has failed to tackle corruption.