The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed on Thursday declared that President Muhammadu Buhari will not resign from office as is being demanded in some quarters.
Mohammed, while briefing the media in Abuja, stated that Buhari has the mandate of Nigerians to preside over the affairs of the country till 2023, stressing that he will not cut that mandate short by resigning.
Calls for the President’s resignation have been rampant in recent time following the recent escalation in the level of insecurity in the country.
Recall that the Senate Minority Leader, Eyinnaya Abaribe, had called on the President to resign if he could not guarantee security of lives and property of Nigerians.
Also, the Christian Association of Nigeria and other groups had called for the sacking of the Service Chiefs.
But reacting to the calls on Thursday, Mohammed said that Buhari will not resign.
He insisted that the nation’s security challenges were being aggravated by fake news.
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The minister said, “As I said earlier, the country is facing security challenges, and the challenges are being tackled headlong.
“However, there have been some red herrings in recent times, including those calling for the resignation of Mr. President or the sack of the service chiefs.
“I just want to say that the government, which has provided and continues to provide the military and the security agencies with the wherewithal, believes in their ability to tackle insecurity.
“These challenges will be successfully tackled. I will, however, advise all commentators, especially political and religious leaders, to be very careful at this time not to aggravate the situation with incendiary comments; comments that cash in on our religious, ethnic and political fault lines to further divide us.
“The kind of comments that have been
attributed to some leaders, especially religious leaders, are incendiary and reckless. Leaders should be part of solutions to problems, rather than aggravating situations.
“To those asking Mr. President to resign, I wish to say this: Mr President will not resign. He has the overwhelming mandate of Nigerians to preside over the affairs of the country till the expiration of his tenure in May 2023.”
