Immediate past President of Nigeria muhammadu Buhari has said that Nigerians cannot deny that the naira redesign policy paved way for cleaner elections and that it was people who had too much money that had problems with the policy.
The former president made known 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, and presented in Abuja on Tuesday, January 16 2024
While commenting on why he didn’t sack the former Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Godwin Emefiele when there were insinuations about Emefiele’s presidential ambition, Buhari stated that Emefiele never discussed such political ambition with him.
Buhari’s defense of his administration’s Naira redesign policy, executed by the then, CBN governor Godwin Emefiele, saying it helped the country achieve a clean general election in 2023, was also imbedded in the book.
Cited in the memoir to support this claims, the former President maintained that those who had a problem with the policy were individuals who had too much money.
Reacting further on the naira redesign policy as captured in the book’s 12th chapter, the former President said that the scarcity of money was not deliberately done to punish Nigerians adding that democracy allows people to express their will, and his administration did not attempt to control them.
He maintained further that people understood the implications of their choices, and his government did not force them stressing that Katsina state, his home state showed the beauty of the whole system as was witnessed in the last Presidential poll where APC lost, but they came back to win the governorship.
Buhari stressed that maybe the APC took things for granted then because it was his state, and thought they would win easily adding that people do not like being taken for granted.
In the chapter, the former president was further quoted as saying; “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 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.
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 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”.
