Why I Didn’t Sack Emefiele Despite His Presidential Ambition – Buhari

Ex-President Muhammadu Buhari has clarified the reason behind his decision not to dismiss the former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor, Godwin Emefiele, despite speculations about his presidential aspiration in the 2023 elections.

Buhari revealed this in 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, and presented in Abuja on Tuesday.

He explained that he did not remove Emefiele because of the absence of firm evidence that he was indeed pursuing a presidential ambition.

In the memoir, Buhari was quoted to have said, “When he (Emefiele) 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.”

Buhari stated that “unless there was firm evidence against him,” it would be “unfair”, and “an act of injustice to remove him, acting on hearsay.”

The former president added, “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.”