President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered all his political appointees running for one office or the other in the 2023 General Election to resign. President Buhari gave the order on Wednesday, following a Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held at the State House in Abuja.
A report by The Nation quoted Buhari to have said at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting: “I expect other members of this council seeking to be President to resign with immediate effect.” However, the president said this order does not affect Emeka Nwajiuba, the minister of state for education, who had dropped his ambition in order to avoid conflict of interests. Other ministers seeking to be governors, senators, and House of Representatives members are still trying to seek clarifications if they were affected. “We were not clear if this directive will affect other ministers aspiring to be governors, Senators, and House of Representatives members. We are expecting more clarifications soon.” President Buhari gave the order towards the end of the weekly FEC meeting. Leadership gave the names of affected ministers as follows: Ministers of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi; Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio; Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige; Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu; Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba; Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami. Others are Minister of State Mines and Steel, Uche Ogar, who is running for the governorship position in Cross Rivers State, and the Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, who declared her ambition to contest for a senatorial seat in Plateau State.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, made the disclosure while briefing State House Correspondents at the end of Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Buhari.
Only the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, who he affirmed was an elected official was exempted from the marching order.
