The Presidency and the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation on Tuesday passed the buck over the refusal of ministers, ambassadors and aides to the President to resign ahead of the governorship and presidential primaries of the All Progressives Congress which commence on May 25.

This is just as the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, on Tuesday declared his intention to contest the presidential election. Just like the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, who joined the presidential race last week, Ngige also refused to resign.

A senior official at the Presidential Villa told The PUNCH that the SGF, Boss Mustapha, ought to have issued a circular stating a deadline on when appointees of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), should resign.

The official noted that across the 36 states, the secretaries to the state governments are the ones issuing circulars and guidelines for appointees seeking elective office.

“It is not our job in the Presidential Villa to ask anyone to resign. It is the job of the SGF to do so. So, you should direct your inquiries to the SGF. Please do not write my name inside your paper because I don’t want to be drawn into this controversial issue,” the official said.

However, an aide to the SGF told The PUNCH that as an appointee of the President himself, it was not the job of Mustapha to issue such a directive unless he was ordered by the President to do so.