Former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, and the Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, on Thursday, disagreed over the removal of the Emir as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, when Jonathan was President.
Jonathan also denied that $49.8 billion was missing from the government’s treasuries during his tenure.
He said he never sacked the former Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido, for alerting Nigerians over the alleged missing funds.
However, Sanusi said Jonathan sacked him as CBN governor, contrary to the former President’s claim that he was only suspended.
They both spoke during the launch of a book, “Public Policy and Agents Interests: Perspectives from the Emerging World”.
The book is co-authored by former Minister of Finance, Shamshudeen Usman, who served as Minister of Planning under his government, and the Emir.
Reacting to Jonathan’s claim, the monarch jokingly told the former President that he (Jonathan) “constructively sacked him.”
Sanusi, who took to the podium hours after Jonathan’s comment, insisted that he was sacked by Jonathan.
“My boss who sacked me. I was constructively dismissed. I continue to respect Jonathan and I don’t have grudges against anyone,” Emir said, as he delivered a short message at the event he presided over as Royal Father of the Day.
Jonathan reacts
Insisting that no such amount was lost in his government, Jonathan told attendees at the event, one of whom was the 16th Emir of Kano, that an internationally-recognised audit firm engaged to probe the alleged missing amount, gave the administration a clean bill of health.
“Jonathan also recounted how he was confronted by then President of Germany, Angela Merkel, over the matter and that he explained that such money couldn’t have been stolen from a struggling country.
He said: “Let me mention that I did not agree with some issues raised by one of the contributors (to the book). 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.”
He said he was vindicated about the claim after the former CBN governor began to change the narrative from $49bn to $20bn and later $12bn.
Jonathan further added that Price Water Coopers, PWC, which investigated the matter, revealed that no such amount was stolen.
However, he added that $1.48 billion could not be accounted for by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, (now NNPCL) at the time.
Credit: Vanguard News Nigeria