Former President Goodluck Jonathan has dismissed claims made by the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, regarding an alleged $49.8 billion loss during Jonathan’s administration.
Jonathan who refuted the claims while speaking at the launch of Sanusi’s book titled, Public Policy and Agent Interests: Perspectives from The Emerging World, held in Abuja said if such a substantial financial loss occurred under his leadership, asserting the country would have struggled to meet its salary obligations.
Sanusi, in his book, claimed that the purported mismanagement had significant negative effects on the nation’s economy.
Sanusi’s book, edited by former Minister of Finance, Shamsuddeen Usman, reignited the debate over the alleged missing funds.
However, Jonathan clarified that Sanusi was not sacked for his whistleblowing but was suspended, saying, “He said he was sacked because he blew the whistle that the Federal Government lost $49.8 billion. It’s not quite correct. He was suspended.”
The former president further elaborated on the controversy surrounding the amount, noting the discrepancies in the 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,” Jonathan said, emphasizing that after forensic audits, no evidence of a $50 billion loss was found.
Jonathan acknowledged that the audit did uncover a shortfall of $1.48 billion, which the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was directed to account for, but reiterated that the larger sum cited by Sanusi was unsubstantiated.
