CENTRAL Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Malam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, yesterday refused to apologise to the upper chamber of the National Assembly over his claim that 25 per cent of the entire Federal Government overheads was going to the National Assembly alone.

Much as the senators tried to get an unreserved apology from the CBN boos, they failed to extract an “I’m sorry” remark from Sanusi, who they specifically summoned to clarify his statement.

The forum was an investigative hearing by the Joint Appropriation, Finance and Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), where Sanusi appeared alongside the Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga and the Special Assistant to the President on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), Mrs. Amina Azubair, to explain the basis for their allegations on the pattern of government expenditure.

Sanusi told the senators that the money spent on recurrent expenditue was not about the cost of democracy.

His words: “It is about overhead spending that may be fuelling inflation. I was brought up to apologise if am wrong and my nature is to speak my mind if it is the truth.”

The heat was much more on the CBN boss, who had made the statement at a convocation lecture he delivered at the Igbinedion University, Okada, where he was reported by the newspapers to have said that the Federal Government spends 25 per cent of its entire budget on the National Assembly.

Sanusi, however, refuted the claims, and said: “If you read the newspapers that quoted me directly, what I said was that the Federal Government spends 25 per cent of its overhead costs on the National Assembly”.

He told the senators that although, he was enjoying the job of the CBN governor, he would be ready to quit anyday once the legislators insisted on it.

He said: I fought for democracy. When Abacha was in power, I opposed him. Democracy is all about free speech. I enjoy my job but it is not my life. But gentlemen, if you want me to quit, I’ll quit without a fight.

Quoting figures, which he said were given to him by the Director-General of the Budget Office, Dr. Bright Okogu, Sanusi said the total overhead cost of the Federal Government for 2010 is N536.2 billion, while that of the National Assembly alone is N136.2 billion, which translates to over 25 per cent.

He said it was an increasing trend that jumped from 14.9 per cent in 2008 to 19.87 per cent in 2009.