The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, has not resigned.
Umar Gwandu, the Special Assistant on Media and Public Relations, Office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, said this in a statement on Thursday in Abuja.
Rather, he stated that the minister remained committed to discharging statutory obligations and constitutionally delineated responsibilities in accordance with the provisions of extant laws.
According to Gwandu, Malami is grateful to Nigerians for the demonstration of love and the interest shown in him.
He issued the statement in reaction to the claim that the minister had resigned from President Muhammadu Buhari’s cabinet to pursue his political ambition.
Besides the statement by Gwandu, an aide to the President on social media, Lauretta Onochie, also denied the claim, saying it was fake news.
Ahead of the general elections, reports had emerged that Malami has publicly declared his interest to become the next governor of Kebbi State.
But Gwandu, in a swift reaction, stated that the minister had yet to declare interest to contest for any elective position in the 2023 general elections.
He stressed that the declaration to contest for a political position was never a hidden affair or clandestine operation that could be reported as a scoop by a section of the media.
“A video being circulated as the purported declaration was mischievously translated with fabricated insertions and interpolations that cannot in spirit and context establish the misinformation circulated,” the minister’s spokesman had said in a statement on Tuesday.
At the appropriate time, according to him, the people will “hear from the horse’s mouth” in the full glare of the media, stakeholders, like-minds, party faithful, and supporters.