On Thursday, former President Goodluck Jonathan refuted claims that he fired Muhammad Sanusi, the Emir of Kano, as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) due to allegations that $49.8 billion had vanished from the nation’s coffers.
According to Jonathan, Sanusi was placed under suspension when his tenure expired and the Financial Reporting Council questioned CBN’s expenses.
He claimed that, in contrast to Sanusi’s assertion, an international audit firm was hired to examine the CBN and it was found that no money was lost.
Jonathan gave a speech at the book’s debut. Shamshudeen Usman, a former minister of finance who also held the position of minister of planning in his administration, co-wrote the book with him.
According to Jonathan: “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 $49.8 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.
“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.”
