I wasn't under pressure to sack ex-Army boss, says Jonathan

I wasn't under pressure to sack ex-Army boss, says Jonathan

- Goodluck Jonathan has said that he was never compelled to sack the former Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika

- The former president at a recent event insisted that he can never be coerced to do what is wrong

- Dino Melaye who was also at the event tendered his apology to Jonathan for not backing his presidential ambition in 2015

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Former Nigerian president, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan has reacted to insinuations that he was under pressure to sack the then Chief of Army Staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika.

There had been talks that Jonathan was forced to removed Ihejirika from office due to pressure from some top northern power blocs.

However, on Tuesday, December 15, during the launch of a book in his honour, he denied the claim outrightly, Channels TV reports.

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I wasn't under pressure to sack ex-Army boss, says Jonathan
Jonathan said he didn't sack Ihejirika due to pressure from the north (Photo: @GEJonathan)
Source: Twitter

His words:

“He mentioned my removing the Chief of Army Staff, General Ihejirika and said that because there was so much pressure on me from the north, it was not pressured.
“If somebody is doing what is right, even if you want to hit my head. And split my head, I will not..."

Meanwhile, one of the attendees at the book launch, Dino Melaye, tendered his apology to Jonathan, first for campaigning against him before the 2015 general elections.

Moreover, Melaye noted that he is remorseful for this having seen what the country has become now compared to when Jonathan was in power.

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The former Kogi senator said:

“Having seen what he did as President and the sorry state of our country today, I want to publicly say ‘once I was blind, now I can see.’ On behalf of all of us who shot blindly, we are sorry, very very sorry."

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Added to this, Governor Umaru Ganduje who was also at the ceremony thanked the former president for conceding defeat after 2015 presidential poll.

Ganduje had earlier confessed that the appointment of Alhaji Muhammadu Lamido Sanusi in 2014 was done to despise Jonathan, not necessarily because he was the best man for the job.

The former Nigerian leader had allegedly sacked Sanusi in 2014 as the then governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) over his claim that some persons in his administration stole the sum of $49 billion.

Jonathan was never a bad president | Legit TV

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Authors:
Onyirioha Nnamdi avatar

Onyirioha Nnamdi Onyirioha Nnamdi is a graduate of Literature and English Language at the University of Lagos. He is a Politics/Current Affairs Editor who writes on news and political topics for Legit.ng. He brings into his reporting a wealth of experience in creative and analytical writing. Nnamdi has a major interest in local and global politics. He has a professional certificate from Reuters and was awarded the editor with the best listicle for 2021. Contact: 08062988054, o.nnamdi@corp.legit.ng