By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
Former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Dr Obadiah Mailafia has denied media reports that he was approached to join the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) to escape prosecution.
Mailafia who was the Presidential Candidate of African Democratic Congress ADC in the 2019 Elections denied ever granting any press interview to that effect. but only “chatted with party faithful”.
In a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, the former CBN Deputy Governor said he was not only “embarrassed by the sensational slant of the said publications, but alarmed by the rather callous debasement of journalistic ethics by the authors of the stories via an ‘interview’ which I purportedly granted them”.
His words: “To put the records straight, a group of people had approached me after a meeting of stakeholders of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Abuja on Tuesday, September 17, 2019.
“I had made some remarks in the course of the meeting to prove to the party that my loyalty has not in any way been compromised.
Those who approached me for pleasantries after the meeting were members of the party, who alluded to some of my remarks at the meeting to which I reinforced my earlier commitment and loyalty to the ADC.
“I had explained to them that I had no reason to betrayal the ADC, and while the discussion lasted, I did not see those who were involved in that informal discussion brandishing tape recorders or other articles of trade associated with journalists, neither did they introduce themselves as such.
“It was therefore embarrassing waking up today to be inundated with calls from all corners of the globe alluding to sensational headlines ascribed to my name.
“One is particularly piqued by the reference to His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Although we belong to two political camps, he is still the President of Nigeria, and I hold him in very high esteem. I never set out to impugn the person of President Buhari, anybody or group, for that matter”.
