Former President Goodluck Jonathan has firmly denied claims that $49.8 billion went missing from Nigeria’s treasury during his administration. He also clarified that Sanusi Lamido, the then-governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was not dismissed for revealing such allegations, contrary to public perception.
Instead, Jonathan emphasized that Sanusi was suspended for other reasons, including infractions within the CBN, rather than whistleblowing about any missing funds.
Jonathan made these comments on Thursday while speaking at the launch of the book Public Policy and Agents Interests: Perspectives from the Emerging World. The book was co-authored by Shamshudeen Usman, a former Minister of Finance and Planning under Jonathan’s government. During the event, Sanusi, now the Emir of Kano, reiterated his claim that his dismissal from the CBN was due to his warnings about the alleged missing billions.
Addressing the issue directly, Jonathan told attendees that there was no truth to the allegations of missing funds, asserting that “no such amount was lost in his government.” He went on to explain that an internationally recognized audit firm had been hired to investigate the matter, and the administration was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Price Waterhouse Coopers (PwC), the firm responsible for the audit, concluded that the only discrepancy was $1.48 billion, which was not accounted for by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at the time.
Jonathan expressed disbelief that such a significant amount, close to $50 billion, could go missing without causing widespread financial turmoil.
He said, “Let me mention that I did not agree with some issues raised by one of the contributors. But I don’t intend to join issues because he is our royal father. And he is here.
“The one he raised that he was sacked because he blew a whistle that the Federal Government lost $49.8billion 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. But somehow, the time was short. So before we finished, his tenure elapsed. Probably, he would have been called back.
“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.
“And more so, when our revered royal father came up with the figures. First $49.8 billion, later $20 billion and later $12 billion. I don’t even know the correct one”.
