You Must Resign, PDP Tells Malami, Ngige

By Ayodele Oni

The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN,  has been urged to save his name and career by quitting President Muhammadu Buhari’s Cabinet without further delay.

The opposition People’s Democratic Party, (PDP) also enjoined the Minister to save the country from international embarrassment by his refusal to resign his appointment from  Government after openly declaring to run for the Governorship election in his home State, Yobe, and obtained his party’s nomination form.

This was contained in a statement from the office of the South West PDP and signed by Chief Sanya Atofarati.

The statement states “We thank many Nigerians who have raised their voices in defence of democracy by calling the APC-led administration under Buhari to follow the path of constitutionality and common sense by ordering his Ministers with political ambition to first tender their resignation letters before pursuing their political interests which was complied with by some of the affected Ministers.

“But the case of the number one law officer of the Nation who declared over the weekend that he has not resigned as the Attorney General of the Federation, but had only withdrawn from the Kebbi Governorship race was both pathetic and appalling.

“It shows the impunity and lawlessness in the APC orchestrated by an Attorney General who had, from day one, been plotting to circumvent the rule of law in order to preserve his unbridled ambition to be governor of Kebbi State until the presidential directive.

“Malami would have succeeded in eating his cake and having it, if he had not been called to order by the ordinary law of the land which he has been flouting with reckless abandon.

“The PDP, therefore, urges the embattled Minister to save the noble profession and the country from International embarrassment by resigning his position now as he’s not qualified to stay in that office the day he signified his interest to seek political office as a serving Minister of Justice and obtained a non-refundable form for N50m.

“His co -traveller, Dr Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, had earlier resigned to pursue his 2023 presidential aspiration.

“But he suddenly withdrew the resignation letter in order to keep his job, a clear manifestation of executive recklessness by a Minister, who presided over a Ministry under which University lecturers were on strike for six months and the presiding officer found it convenient to abandon the aggrieved workers at the negotiation table to pursue his presidential aspiration.

“The PDP, therefore, aligns with the opinion expressed by Mr Femi Falana (SAN) that since the resignation of the former Ministers has taken effect, they cannot return to the cabinet either on their own volition or on the directive of the President.

“The resignation of the Ministers is not a cabinet reshuffle. It is akin to the removal of the former Ministers by the President, period.”