Former President Goodluck Jonathan has addressed claims made by the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, in his recent book, asserting that Nigeria did not lose $49.8 billion during his tenure.
Speaking on Thursday at the book launch of “Public Policy and Agent Interests: Perspectives from The Emerging World” in Abuja, edited by former Minister of Finance Shamsuddeen Usman, Jonathan expressed his disagreement with Sanusi’s assertions.
He stated that it is implausible for Nigeria to lose such a substantial amount while still being able to pay salaries.
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Jonathan clarified that Sanusi was suspended, not sacked, and noted that the Financial Reporting Council of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) could not investigate the allegations due to time constraints.
He also pointed out the inconsistent figures cited by Sanusi, which shifted from $49.8 billion to $20 billion, and then to $12 billion.
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Jonathan emphasized that forensic audits failed to verify the missing $50 billion, although a report did reveal that $1.48 billion was unaccounted for and should be remitted to the federation account by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
This issue is not new; in 2014, Sanusi wrote to Jonathan, claiming that the NNPC had failed to remit $49.8 billion of oil revenue to the Federation Account over a 19-month span.
However, the NNPC denied this, and a subsequent joint press conference clarified that the actual disputed amount was $10.8 billion.
Despite this clarification, Jonathan requested Sanusi’s resignation, which Sanusi refused, asserting that only two-thirds of the Senate could remove him.
The Senate later confirmed that the $49.8 billion in oil funds were not missing.
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