President Muhammadu Buhari will not resign as a result of the security challenges facing the country, the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has declared.
Obviously reacting to the calls in some quarters that the president should resign, Mohammed on Thursday in Abuja stressed that the president had the mandate to preside over the affairs of the country until 2023.
His words: “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.”
He added that those calling for the resignation of the security chiefs of the country because of the same reason should be mindful of their comments.
According to him, the government was confident about their ability and had been providing the means to overcome the challenges.
Said the minister: “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.”
