The Republic
Looted Funds

2018 — Folklore13.· ₦70m — 'eaten by monkeys'· Chapter I · Money

Northern Senators' ₦70m 'Monkey'

Senator Shehu Sani (APC, Kaduna Central) told reporters that ₦70,000,000 belonging to the Northern Senators' Forum had been 'swallowed by monkeys' at a ranking senator's farmhouse. The claim — widely understood as a satirical deflection — followed the removal of Sen. Abdullahi Adamu as Forum chairman over the missing funds.

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Days after the JAMB snake story broke, Senator Shehu Sani publicly stated that approximately ₦70,000,000 belonging to the Northern Senators' Forum had been 'swallowed by monkeys' at the farmhouse of a ranking senator. The remark followed the removal of Sen. Abdullahi Adamu (APC, Nasarawa West) as chairman of the Forum over the missing funds. Sen. Dino Melaye amplified the story on social media with a mocking photograph captioned that he and Sani were 'strategising on how to arrest the monkey that stole our money.' No prosecution followed; the matter was resolved internally within the Senate. The 'monkey' joined the snake as folk shorthand for the disappearance of legislative funds.

What it cost — political & economic reality

The political and economic reality

Nigeria in 2018: who was in charge, the cabinet of the day, the GDP, and the crises that defined the period.

President · Fourth Republic

Muhammadu Buhari

2015–2023· APC

National reality

Two recessions (2016, 2020). Multiple naira devaluations. ASUU strike of 2022 closed federal universities for ~9 months. End SARS protests (Oct 2020); Lekki Toll Gate incident. Out-of-school children >18 million by 2022.

Crises of the period

  • 2016 recession + FX crisis
  • End SARS + Lekki Toll Gate (Oct 2020)
  • COVID-19 lockdown (2020)
  • 9-month ASUU strike (2022)
  • Naira redesign chaos (Q1 2023)

GDP (World Bank)

$494 bn (2015) → $477 bn (2022)

Cabinet (selected portfolios)

  • Finance

    Kemi Adeosun (2015–18); Zainab Ahmed (2018–23)

  • Justice (AGF)

    Abubakar Malami (SAN)

  • Education

    Mallam Adamu Adamu (2015–23)

  • Petroleum

    Muhammadu Buhari (concurrent); Min. of State Ibe Kachikwu then Timipre Sylva

Sources · Federal Gazette 2015–23 · CBN · NBS

Methodology

Tier 1 · primary

Courts. Gazettes. National archives.

Tier 2 · corroborating

OCCRP. HRW. BudgIT. TheCable.

Tier 4 · tertiary, flagged

Wikipedia only where primary is pending. Always labelled.