President Muhammadu Buhari will not step down from office over the rising insecurity bedeviling the nation, Lai Mohammed, Information Minister, has said.
Critics of the president and his administration has been calling on him to step aside over the poor security situation in the country.
Kidnappings, killings and banditry are some of the criminal activities that has recently increased. Some Nigerians has called on the president to sack his service chiefs but rather than listen, he has paid deaf ears, looking the other way.
But Mr Mohammed speaking in Abuja on Thursday said the president will remain in office because he has the overwhelming support of Nigerians.
The minister also cautioned against remarks that could further worsen the security situation which he said the government was tackling.
“As I said earlier, the country is facing security challenges, and the challenges are being tackled headlong,” Mohammed said.
“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,” the minister added.
