Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said he was not under any pressure to sack the former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Azubuike Ihejirika from office.

Speaking during a book launch in his honour in Abuja, Jonathan said some people thought he sacked the general due to some pressure from the north.

“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,” Jonathan said.

“If somebody is doing what is right, even if you want to hit my head. And split my head, I will not (sack the person).”

Also speaking during the launch, a former lawmaker representing Kogi-West senatorial district in the National Assembly, Senator Dino Melaye tendered a public apology to Jonathan for campaigning against him in the run-up to the 2015 general elections.

To the ex-lawmaker, his apology is borne out of what he described as the state of the Nigerian nation, coupled with what the ex-President achieved while in office.

“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,” he said.

On his part, Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, commended the ex-President for conceding defeat in the 2015 general elections.

He also hailed Jonathan for his administration’s efforts in the Almajiri system of education in the north.

• Text (excluding headline): Channels TV.