The Federal Government has flatly rejected claims spreading across social media that defence minister General Christopher Gwabin Musa plans to step down from his post. The minister's office issued a statement on Monday branding the reports "malicious" and "entirely fabricated," and calling on Nigerians to ignore them.
Leah Katung-Babatunde, the minister's special assistant on media, signed the statement titled "False Rumour Regarding the Honourable Minister of Defence." According to her, online reports had wrongly suggested that General Musa intended to resign from his position.
"We wish to state unequivocally and in the strongest possible terms that these rumours are absolute falsehoods borne out of complete mischief," the statement read. It stressed that General Musa remains fully committed to his role and laser-focused on executing the government's national defence and security agenda.
The office underlined that the minister continues dedicating himself to managing the nation's defence strategy and fulfilling his mandate. It also took a swipe at media outlets and social media users for spreading unverified information without checking facts.
"The general public is hereby urged to disregard this fake news. We strongly advise media outlets and internet users to desist from spreading unverified information and to seek clarification from the office on matters concerning the minister," the statement said.
The government reiterated that General Musa remains firmly in office and continues performing his duties without interruption.
