Buhari on Emefiele: Unless There Was Firm Evidence, It Would Be Unfair, Act of Injustice to Remove Him

•Insists only people with too much money kicked against Naira redesign policy

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Former President Muhammadu Buhari has defended the erstwhile Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Godwin Emefiele, insisting that only those who had too much money had issues with the controversial naira redesign policy.

It is perceived that the current travails of Emefiele may be connected with the policy which the Buhari administration implemented in the run-up to the general elections in 2023.

Coincidentally, President Bola Tinubu had taken serious exception to the policy, maintaining that it was specifically targeted at him and was meant to stop his presidential bid at the time.

Ironically, a  recent report released by the special investigator into the activities of the CBN under Buhari led by Jim Obazee had indicated that the former president did not specifically approve of the redesign policy. However, the former president’s remarks in the book contradicted the report.

In chapter 12 of a memoir titled: “Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015 – 2023)”, written by his former Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, which was publicly presented yesterday, Buhari stated that the policy helped to ensure that the elections were not hijacked by money bags.

“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,” Buhari stated.

“The scarcity of money was not deliberately 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,” he added.

Buhari maintained that he treated everyone fairly when he was the Nigerian leader, explaining that he expected that whoever took over from him, should also treat him the same way.

He further said that he did not sack Emefiele when there were speculations about his presidential ambition, because at no time did the former CBN governor discuss it with him and it would therefore be unfair to take action on mere hearsay.

“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 yourself wouldn’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, friends, who will feel it. I’m very conscious of fairness.

“When he was linked with campaign for 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,” he added.

Still on the naira redesign matter, the former Nigerian president noted that to buttress his point about the rich and wealthy hijacking the elections, a large amount of the scarce currency at the time was found with a banker during the period.

“When it was said that the new notes were not available, over N260 million 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 refused to judge people by my own standard. I am not materialistic, but it will be too much to expect all Nigerians 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 clear conscience, so that when I go to bed, I sleep off immediately,”  he said in the book.

According to him, due to the policy, many of the contestants sat up instead of waiting to buy voters and their conscience during the polls.

“My state, Katsina, showed the beauty of the whole system. In the presidential poll, the All Progressives Congress (APC) lost, but they came back to win the governorship.

“Maybe they took things for granted earlier because it was my state, and they thought they would win easily. People do not like being taken for granted,” he added.