Former President Goodluck Jonathan has denied claims made by the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, regarding an alleged $49.8 billion missing during his administration.
Jonathan addressed the issue on Thursday in Abuja during the launch of Sanusi’s book titled “Public Policy and Agent Interests: Perspectives from The Emerging World”. The book was edited by former Minister of Finance, Shamsuddeen Usman.
During his speech, Jonathan refuted the claim, arguing that Nigeria could not have lost such a huge amount without facing difficulties in paying salaries.
Sanusi, in his book, suggested that the alleged financial mismanagement had a detrimental impact on Nigeria’s economy. However, Jonathan clarified that Sanusi was not removed from his position as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) because of the whistleblowing but was suspended.
He stated, “I need to say why I did not quite agree with him. All that he wrote was on some of the issues, especially the one that is related to me.
“He said he was sacked because he blew the whistle that the federal government lost $49.8 billion. It’s not quite correct. It was not that he was sacked. He was suspended.”
Jonathan further highlighted discrepancies in the reported figures, with initial claims of $49.8 billion, later reduced to $20 billion and then to $12 billion. He stressed that after a forensic audit, no evidence supported the claim of a $50 billion loss.
The former President acknowledged that the audit revealed a $1.48 billion shortfall, which the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited was asked to address, but insisted the larger sums were never proven.