Former President Goodluck Jonathan asserted on Thursday that the Federal Government did not lose $49.8 billion during his administration. He made this statement in Abuja at the launch of a book by Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, a former Minister of Finance under his tenure.
Jonathan disagreed with some contributions from former CBN Governor Muhammad Sanusi II regarding the alleged lost funds, clarifying that Sanusi was suspended, not sacked, due to inquiries into CBN expenditures. He emphasized that the claim of losing such a large sum was implausible given Nigeria’s total budget at the time was $31.6 billion.
He noted that after the allegation surfaced, a forensic audit by PricewaterhouseCoopers found only $1.48 billion unaccounted for, which was not the staggering figures initially cited. Jonathan also praised Usman for his contributions to the country’s development agenda and expressed no regrets about appointing him.