Former President Goodluck Jonathan said the Emir of Kano and former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), was suspended from office after the Financial Reporting Council had uncovered serious infractions committed under his watch as head of the apex bank.
Jonathan stated this at the launch of a book: ‘Public Policy and Agents Interests: Perspectives From The Emerging World,’ edited by former minister of finance, Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, who served as minister of planning under his government.
Recall that Sanusi had in 2013 blew the whistle on the discrepancies in oil revenue remittances, which left $49 billion unaccounted for.
However, the figure was later revised to $20 billion after discussions with the finance ministry.
The Jonathan administration quickly debunked the claims, with some sections of his government accusing Sanusi of trying to undermine the government.
In February 2014, President Jonathan suspended Sanusi for “financial recklessness and misconduct” as CBN Governor.
The presidential statement announcing his suspension said he had been removed pending “investigations into breaches of enabling laws, due process and mandate” of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
It said his “tenure has been characterised by various acts of financial recklessness and misconduct… and far-reaching irregularities.”
Speaking at the book launch in Abuja yesterday, the former president who chaired the event, said although he agreed with the book’s thesis and recommended it for research, he disagreed with Sanusi’s claim on the missing money.
He was reacting to Sanusi’s assertion in the book that he (Sanusi) was sacked for exposing the disappearance of money under Jonathan’s government.
Jonathan maintained that the Emir was not axed but suspended.
“I need to say why I did not quite agree with him. All that he wrote was on some of the issues, especially the one that is related to me.
“The one he raised was that he was sacked because he blew the whistle that the federal government lost $49.8 billion. It’s not quite correct. It was not that he was sacked. He was suspended.
“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.
“So, before we finished, his tenure was already over, well, probably we would have called him back,” he declared.
Jonathan said the money alleged by Sanusi to have been stolen could not have been taken out without immediate impact, when even the federal budget as of that time was about $32 billion.
“Let me mention that I did not agree with some issues raised by one of the contributors. But I don’t intend to take 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 $49.8bn 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,” he explained.
Jonathan maintained that no such money went missing. He said Sanusi’s claims began to wobble when the narrative changed from $49 billion to $20 billion and later $12 billion.
“On the issue of $49.8bn, till today, I am not convinced that the Federal Government lost $49.8bn. And that year, our budget was $31.6bn. So, for a country that had a budget of $31.6bn to lose about $50bn 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,” said Jonathan.
Jonathan also recounted how he was confronted by the former German Chancellor, Ms Angela Merkel, on the issue.
He recalled how he explained to her that such an amount could not have been stolen from a struggling economy.
He added that he was vindicated much later when the former CBN governor began to revise the sum from $49 billion to $20 billion and then $12 billion.
“Let me tell you a personal experience. The African presidents and the EU presidents, we had a meeting. I think in Belgium or Moscow,” he said.
Continuing, the former president said: “And during those meetings, you have bilateral talks, and the chancellor of Germany then, Angela Merkel, requested that we should have a bilateral meeting.
“So, because she requested, we had to go to where she arranged for the meeting. And I went there with some of my ministers. And there were many ministers from other countries as well.
“Even before I sat down, she raised her hand and said, President Jonathan, we are hearing about $49.8 billion missing.
“I said, what is happening? What’s the use of welcoming a guest? Then I smiled and said, Madam Chancellor, of course, the economy of Germany is very strong, so if you are talking about $49.8 billion, just say $50 billion.
“The economy of Germany is strong, so if you lose $50 billion, you would not notice it. But if Nigeria loses $50 billion, the federal government would not be able to pay salaries.”
Jonathan also explained that Price Water Coopers, which investigated the matter, revealed that no such amount was stolen but that the NNPC could not account for $1.48 billion at the time.
Besides, Jonathan said then senate committee on finance, chaired by Mr Ahmed Makarfi, investigated the issue and found the claims unfounded.
“We commissioned the PwC, one of the best financial gurus, auditors and so on. I said they should do a forensic audit, but nobody can sit down and say $50 billion, because I have no idea about that one.
“The report they came up with was that there is $1.48 billion that they couldn’t really give a proper account of, and that NNPC should pay that money to the original account.
“They did not say we lost 12 billion or 20 billion or 50 billion. And Makarfi is still alive. Makarfi was the chairman of senate committee on finance, and the minute that publication came out, he said it.
“They directed their finance committee to investigate, and they used external professional auditors to look into it.
“They themselves didn’t see either 50 billion or 20 billion or 30 billion.”
He also said there needs to be clarity so “somebody who is reading the book will not just go with the impression that $50 billion was lost… when President Jonathan did not steal billions of dollars.”
Speaking later, Sanusi stated that he was “constructively dismissed” contrary to Jonathan’s claim.
“My boss (referring to Jonathan), who sacked me. I was constructively dismissed. I continue to respect Jonathan and I don’t have grudges against anyone,” Sanusi said.
