Jonathan denies sacking Sanusi over missing $49.8bn

Former President Goodluck Jonathan has denied suspending former Central Bank Governor, Dr Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, now Emir of Kano, Muhammad Sanusi II, for alleging that $49.8bn went missing from the government’s coffers Jonathan, who insisted that no such money went missing, said the then-CBN leadership fabricated the allegation.

The former president made this statement on Thursday in Abuja during the launch of the book, Public Policy and Agents’ Interests: Perspectives from the Emerging World, co-authored by former Minister of Finance, Dr Shamsudeen Usman, who also served as Minister of Planning under his administration.

Jonathan was responding to the contribution of the former CBN Chief, who claimed in the book that he was removed from office for exposing the alleged disappearance of the money.

Sanusi referred to the incident, which he said led to his dismissal as CBN governor.

In 2013, Sanusi first raised the alarm about discrepancies in oil revenue remittances, claiming $49bn was unaccounted for. However, his initial figure was later revised to $20bn after discussions with the Ministry of Finance.

The Jonathan administration swiftly debunked the claims, with some officials accusing Sanusi of attempting to undermine the regime.