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.