Former President Goodluck Jonathan has stated that the suspension of Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from his role as Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2014 was due to financial mismanagement flagged by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and not related to his allegations of missing government funds.
Jonathan made this revelation on Thursday during the launch of the book Public Policy and Agents’ Interests: Perspectives from the Emerging World, co-authored by former Finance Minister Shamshudeen Usman.
Addressing the long-standing controversy surrounding Sanusi’s removal, Jonathan refuted the claim that the former CBN governor was suspended for exposing the alleged disappearance of $49.8 billion from government coffers.
“The notion that Sanusi was suspended because he blew the whistle that the Federal Government lost $49.8 billion is not quite correct,” Jonathan clarified. “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.”
Jonathan, who had earlier faced criticism for his decision to suspend Sanusi, explained that the FRC had raised valid concerns about how the CBN was being managed under Sanusi’s leadership. He said the decision was based on the need for accountability and proper management of the apex bank’s finances.
During the event, which was attended by Sanusi—now the Emir of Kano—Jonathan emphasized that the timing of the investigation meant Sanusi’s tenure had ended before any final resolution could be reached. He added that the suspension was a necessary step to address the irregularities discovered by the FRC, an agency charged with ensuring financial accountability in government institutions.
Jonathan also addressed the allegations of missing funds, discrediting the narrative that a staggering $49.8 billion had vanished from government coffers as alleged by Sanusi. “On the issue of $49.8 billion, till today, I am not convinced that the Federal Government lost $49.8 billion.
Our budget at that time was $31.6 billion, so for a country with that budget to lose about $50 billion and still pay salaries, nobody felt anything,” he stated.
He urged researchers to revisit the matter for a clearer understanding, pointing out that the figures Sanusi had provided over the years had varied significantly. Jonathan recounted how Sanusi initially claimed $49.8 billion was missing but later revised the figure down to $20 billion and then $12 billion, raising doubts about the credibility of the allegations.
Jonathan also recalled being confronted by then-German Chancellor Angela Merkel regarding the missing funds and how the Federal Government had engaged PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to conduct an independent audit.
no evidence of $49.8 billion being missing, though it did identify $1.48 billion as unaccounted for by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC)—a far smaller sum than originally alleged.
Additionally, the Senate Committee on Finance, chaired by Senator Ahmed Makarfi, had also investigated the claims and found no evidence to support Sanusi’s assertions. Jonathan criticized Sanusi for frequently altering the figures and questioned how such a substantial amount could have been stolen without causing significant disruption to government finances.
“First it was $49.8 billion, then $20 billion, and then $12 billion. I don’t even know the correct figure. But what I do know is that such an amount could not have been stolen without the impact being felt,” Jonathan added.
The event also marked the unveiling of the Shamsuddeen Usman Foundation (SUF), an organization aimed at promoting education and artificial intelligence in Nigeria. While the former CBN governor was present as the Royal Father of the Day, he did not respond to the claims raised by Jonathan during the event.
