Former President Muhammadu Buhari has said that despite the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Godwin Emefiele being linked to the race for the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2023 presidential ticket, he did not ask him.
He also said that he could not have removed the apex bank’s chief from office because Emefiele did not tell him about any presidential ambition.
This account is contained in a book titled, ‘Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015 – 2023)’, written by former presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina.
In the book officially presented in Abuja on Tuesday, Buhari also defended the naira redesign policy implemented by Emefiele, affirming that it helped to produce a cleaner election in 2023.
The former president maintained that those who had a problem with the policy were individuals who had too much money.
In chapter 12 under “Buhari, in his own words, on calls for ING, Emefiele, naira redesign, 2023 polls, others,” the former president stated: “The scarcity of money was not delíberately done to punish Nigerians. Democracy allows people to express their will, and we did not attempt to control them. People understood the implications of their choices, and we did not force them.
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“My state, Katsína, showed the beauty of the whole system. In the presidential poll, APC lost. But they came back to win the governorship. Maybe they took thíngs for granted earlier because ít was my state, and they thought they would win easily. People do not like being taken for granted.
“I met Emefiele in office when I came, and unless there was firm evidence against him, it would be unfair, and an act of injustice to remove him, acting on hearsay.
“If you punish a man unjustly, it could dog his footsteps throughout life, so if you would punish, you must have evidence. And you should know that you won’t be there forever. You would leave one day.
“I’m very conscious about the morale of people who serve with me. I also expect whoever succeeds me to be fair to me. I have family, and friends, who will feel it. I’m very conscious of fairness.
“When he was linked with the campaign for the 2023 presidency, I did not ask him, because he told nobody he was getting involved. Otherwise, I would have removed him and told the nation why.
“There is no denying that the naira redesign policy gave us cleaner elections. It was people who had too much money that had problems with it.
“When it was said that the new notes were not available, over N260 míllíon was found with one bank chairman. Did I take on the Supreme Court on the issue? No, I could not have.
“Some APC governors went to court. I refuse to judge people by my own standard, I am not a materíalistíc, but it will be too much to expect all Nígeríans to be the same way. It is not fair to condemn anybody, but it is up to them and their conscience.
“I want to continue to conduct myself with a clear conscience so that when I go to bed, I sleep off immediately.”
