Buhari said he chose to retain Emefiele as the CBN governor when he came to office because he deemed it unfair to remove him without any concrete and justifiable reason.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari has opened up on his relationship with the former Governor Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Godwin Emefiele.
He also disclosed why he did not relieve Emefiele of his duty when there were speculations of his interest to run for the presidency in 2023.
Buhari said he chose to retain Emefiele as the CBN governor when he came to office because he deemed it unfair to remove him without any concrete and justifiable reason.
He said removing him unjustly would affect him mentally and psychologically and also negatively colour his life forever, adding that evidence must be provided to remove someone who occupied the kind of position Emefiele did.
This revelation and others were made public in a memoir titled “Working with Buhari: Reflections of a Special Adviser, Media and Publicity (2015 – 2023)”, written by former Special Adviser to President Buhari on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina.
Speaking at the launch of the book in Abuja on Tuesday, he also disclosed that he decided not sack Emefiele after reports of him vying from presidency emerged because Emefiele did not broach such subject with him.
“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,” Buhari said in the book.
“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 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,” he added.
