Former President Goodluck Jonathan has revisited the claims of $49 billion missing from government coffers during his administration in 2014, asserting that the allegation was untrue.
Jonathan made this statement during the launch of a book titled *Public Policy and Agent Interests: Perspectives From The Emerging World*, co-authored by former Finance Minister, Dr. Shamshudeen Usman, who served under his government.
The accusation, originally made by then-Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and current Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, led to widespread controversy and was referenced by Sanusi in the book as a factor in his removal from the CBN. However, Jonathan clarified that Sanusi was not sacked, but suspended, due to issues flagged by the Financial Reporting Council regarding CBN expenditures, and not because of the missing funds allegation.
Addressing the $49 billion claim, Jonathan dismissed it, stating that it was unrealistic for such an amount to be stolen from Nigeria’s treasury without causing a significant impact, particularly given that the country’s budget at the time was about $32 billion. He also recounted how the figure was repeatedly revised downwards by Sanusi, first to $20 billion and then to $12 billion.
Jonathan emphasized that an investigation by PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC) concluded that the alleged missing amount did not exist, though $1.48 billion could not be accounted for by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) at the time. He also highlighted a Senate investigation, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, which found no evidence supporting Sanusi’s claims.
Jonathan’s remarks were made in the presence of Emir Sanusi II, who was also attending the event and might respond later to the former president’s comments.
