Resignation: Lai Mohammed says only Buhari can determine fate of Malami, Ngige, others

There is uncertainty over the status of some members of the President’s cabinet who shelved their political ambitions to remain ministers.

This was as the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, said their fate could only be decided by President Muhammadu Buhari.

As of Wednesday, Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen; the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; Minister of State for Petroleum, Timpre Sylva; and Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige had withdrawn their candidacy for various electoral offices in 2023.

Responding to questions from State House correspondents after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, Mohammed said he still needed to clarify from the President whether or not the returnee ministers had been reabsorbed into the cabinet.

Mohammed said, “…about ministers returning or not going, I think you need to give me more time so that I can tell you exactly what the situation is. Right now, I need to cross-check. I need to confirm again from Mr President what the situation is.

“You see the final decision on who is going, who’s coming back, who’s not going lies with Mr President.”

Malami was at the Council Chambers for the meeting while Sylva and Tallen attended online from their various offices in Abuja.

Labour Minister, Dr Ngige, was said to be on an official trip to Durban, South Africa, to attend the International Labour Organization, a global conference on Child Labour.