Former President Goodluck Jonathan has refuted claims that Nigeria lost $49.8 billion during his tenure, as stated by the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, in his new book.
Jonathan addressed the issue on Thursday in Abuja at the launch of the book,
Public Policy and Agent Interests: Perspectives from The Emerging World*, edited by former Minister of Finance, Shamsuddeen Usman.
Speaking at the event, Jonathan clarified that it was impossible for the country to lose such a substantial amount and still manage to pay salaries. He disagreed with Sanusi’s assertion, which claimed that he was removed from his role as Central Bank Governor for revealing the alleged loss.
“I need to explain why I don’t quite agree with him. He said he was sacked because he blew the whistle that the federal government lost $49.8 billion. That’s not accurate. He was suspended, not sacked,” Jonathan said.
The former president explained that a full investigation by the Financial Reporting Council was not completed due to time constraints, as Sanusi’s tenure ended before a thorough review could be conducted. He added, “Before we could finish, his tenure was already over. Probably, we would have called him back.”
Jonathan also expressed skepticism over the conflicting figures presented at the time. “First, it was $49.8 billion, then $20 billion, later $12 billion. So, I don’t even know the correct one,” he remarked.
Following forensic audits, no evidence of a missing $50 billion was found, according to Jonathan. He noted that the final audit report only identified $1.48 billion that couldn’t be fully accounted for, and recommended that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pay the amount into the federation account.
