President Muhammadu Buhari has asked all members of his cabinet seeking elective office to resign on or before May 16.
Tolu Ogunlesi, an aide to the president, disclosed this in a tweet on Wednesday.
“Just in: All members of President Buhari’s cabinet vying for public office will have to resign on or before May 16, 2022,” he tweeted.
Rotimi Amaechi, transportation minister; Ogbonnaya Onu, science and technology minister; Godswill Akpabio, Niger Delta affairs minister, and Chris Ngige, labour minister, have all declared their intention to run for president.
Just in: All members of President Buhari’s cabinet vying for public office will have to resign on or before May 16, 2022.
— Tolu Ogunlesi, MON (@toluogunlesi) May 11, 2022
Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF) and justice minister, is seeking Kebbi governorship seat.
Pauline Tallen, minister of women affairs, is seeking a senatorial seat; Uche Ogar, minister of state for mines and steel, is pursuing a governorship bid.
Buhari’s directive is coming on the heels of the contentious section 84(12) of the electoral act.
The section provides that: “No political appointee at any level shall be a voting delegate or be voted for at the convention or congress of any political party for the purpose of the nomination of candidates for any election.”
The president asked the national assembly to delete the section but the legislature refused to.
