I Never Sacked Emir Sanusi, Neither Did $49.8bn Went Missing in my Govt – Jonathan Clarifies

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday, denied sacking the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi, as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for alleging that $49.8 billion went missing from the country’s coffers.

Jonathan clarified that Sanusi was suspended because the Financial Reporting Council queried CBN’s expenditure and his tenure elapsed. He emphasized that an international audit firm was employed to scrutinize the CBN, and it was discovered that no amount went missing, contrary to Sanusi’s claim.

Jonathan made these remarks at the launch of the book, "Public Policy and Agents Interests: Perspectives from the Emerging World," co-authored by former Minister of Finance, Shamshudeen Usman, who served as Minister of Planning under Jonathan's government.

He stated, “The one he raised that he was sacked because he blew a whistle that the Federal Government lost $49.8 billion is not quite correct. He was not sacked, he was suspended because the Financial Reporting Council queried the expenditure of CBN. And there were serious infractions that needed to be looked at. That was the reason.”

Jonathan further questioned the validity of the missing funds allegation, noting, “On the issue of $49.8 billion, till today, I am not convinced that the Federal Government lost $49.8 billion. And that year, our budget was $31.6 billion. So for a country that had a budget of $31.6 billion to lose about $50 billion and salaries were paid, nobody felt anything. The researchers that wrote this book need to do further research.”

He also pointed out inconsistencies in the figures presented by Sanusi, stating, “First $49.8 billion, later $20 billion and later $12 billion. I don’t even know the correct one.”