I Have Not Resigned - General Gusau ( Minister Of Defence)

SaharaReporters broke the news that Nigerian Defence Minister had resigned. Reacting to the report, General Gusau, who was sworn-in as Defence Minister on March 5, said he has not resigned from the cabinet of the President Jonathan’s administration.

A  BBC Hausa service report monitored in Kano, quoted Gusau to have personally called the foreign media House to intimate the world that he is still in charge of the Defence ministry.

However,  the influential retired General failed to shed more light on  his  rumoured exit exacerbated by his absence at the weekly FEC meeting yesterday.

Dismissing the report of Gusau’s resignation as false, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, said that the General’s absence at yesterday’s meeting was with the permission of President Jonathan.

He said: “There was a report by an online medium alleging that the Minister of Defence, General Gusau, has resigned his appointment. This is to let you know that, that report is untrue. General Gusau remains in office as Minister of Defence . He was absent from the today’s Federal Executive Council meeting with the permission of the President.

“The story is not true, he remains in office. He himself has issued a statement on it but I think this further clarification is necessary before we are confronted with a situation whereby all kinds of wild speculations begin to come up and the story begins to develop undesirable branches.”

In like manner, the Ministry of Defence also dismissed the reports as untrue.

In a statement by its Director of Press, Shehu Maikai, the ministry said: “Our attention have (sic) been drawn to a media posting on the social network to the effect that the Honourable Minister of Defence, Lt General Aliyu Gusau has resigned; and wish to state, categorically, that the minister has not resign (sic) his appointment. We thank all those that have called to verify the rumour and reassure you all that Lt General Aliyu Gusau remains the minister of Defence.”

The former top spy was among 11 new cabinet members sworn in last week by President Jonathan in an elaborate ceremony in Abuja to rejuvenate the federal cabinet.

Gusau, an influential retired General of the Nigerian Army had in the last 14 years of democracy in the country served two administrations as National Security Adviser (NSA) before seeking and missing the number one job in the country in 2011.