Former President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed the reason why he did not sack Godwin Emefiele, the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

CBN, under Emefiele’s administration, implemented the redesign of 200, 500, and 1,000 naira notes on November 23, 2022, and phased out the old notes by January 31, 2023. But after the notes were unveiled, millions of Nigerians across the country were unable to access their monies from banks and ATM cash points.

The development sparked outrage and frustration among bank customers, who took to the streets to express their dissatisfaction. During the crisis, the CBN moved the deadline for phasing out the old notes from January 31 to February 10. However, many Nigerians and businesses struggled to function effectively due to the difficulty in obtaining new notes.

However, Buhari, in a memoir written by Femi Adesina, stated that the scarcity of money was not deliberately done to punish Nigerians and noted that he could not punish Enefiele unless there was solid evidence against him.

“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,” the former president stated.

“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.”

The former president also noted that he is concerned about the morale of those who serve with him and that he expects his successor to be fair to him because he has family and friends who will feel the impact.

He also stated that Emefiele did not disclose his 2023 presidential campaign to him; otherwise, he would have been removed from office if he had been aware of the former Central Bank Governor’s intentions.

“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,

Buhari added that the naira redesign policy resulted in more transparent elections and it was people who had too much money who had problems with it.

“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.”