Jonathan debunks disappearance of $49.8b during his tenure
As Sanusi revisits allegation in new book
Former President, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, debunked renewed claims by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the 16th Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II, that $49.8 billion was missing from the government coffers under his watch as President, describing the allegation as untrue and unfounded.
Jonathan spoke in Abuja at the launch of ‘Public Policy and Agent Interests’, a book written by former Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Shamsudeen Usman.
The event was graced by the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi II; Vice President Kasheem Shettima; Finance Minister, Wale Edun, alongside other eminent Nigerians.
The Guardian reports that 10 years after his sack as CBN Governor by former President Jonathan, that was the first time both gladiators met under the same roof to discuss the matter.
The allegation about the missing money was made by the ex-apex bank chief, who incidentally is a contributor to the book. In the book, Sanusi referred to the saga, which he claims led to his sack as CBN governor.
But Jonathan, who chaired the book launch, in his opening remarks, said in as much as he agreed with the concept of the book and recommended it for research and policy framing, he disagreed with Sanusi’s claim on missing $49.8 billion.
The former President, who explained that Sanusi was not sacked, but suspended, said there was no way such a huge amount would be stolen in Nigeria and the impact would not be felt.
He said for a country whose budget was about $31 billion at the time, the funds couldn’t have been stolen from the country’s purse. Jonathan also recounted how he was confronted by then President of Germany, Angela Merkel, over the matter and that he explained that such money could not have been stolen from a struggling country.
“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 the 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. 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.”
He added: “More so when our revered royal father came up with the figures. First, it was $49.8 billion; later $20 billion, and much later $12 billion. I don’t even know the correct one.”
He said he was vindicated by the porosity of the claims after the former CBN governor began to change the narrative from $49 billion to $20 billion and later $12 billion.
Jonathan further added that Price Water Coopers (PWC), which investigated the matter, revealed that no such amount was stolen, but that $1.48bn could not be accounted for by the NNPC at the time.
He also recalled that the then Senate Committee on Finance, led by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, investigated the issue and found the claims unfounded. The high-profile event also witnessed the formal unveiling of the Shamsuddeen Usman Foundation (SUF), founded and registered by Dr Usman’s children in his honour and dedicated to the promotion of education and Artificial Intelligence in the country.
Related
Get the latest news delivered straight to your inbox every day of the week. Stay informed with the Guardian’s leading coverage of Nigerian and world news, business, technology and sports.
0 Comments
We will review and take appropriate action.