Defence Minister Christopher Musa has dismissed reports claiming he plans to resign from office, describing the speculation as false and politically motivated, while vowing to take legal action against those responsible for spreading the claims.
Speaking with State House correspondents after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa in Abuja on Tuesday, Musa said he had never discussed stepping down and expressed shock over the reports circulating about his alleged resignation.
The minister, who arrived at the State House around 3 p.m. and left shortly after 4 p.m., insisted that there was no basis for the rumours and accused those behind them of attempting to undermine public confidence in the government’s ongoing efforts to improve security across the country.
“I am not going anywhere. I have never discussed this. I don’t even know who the person that brought that information is,” Musa said.
He warned that those responsible for the false reports would face legal consequences.
“But whoever it is, we will take legal action against them. We were surprised. I was shocked when I saw that. I don’t know where that came from,” he added.
According to the minister, the spread of such rumours is a deliberate attempt to discredit the progress being made in addressing Nigeria’s security challenges.
“You always expect that there will be people who will not be happy when things are going well. Security is improving, things are getting better, and for them, that is a sad point. They always want to make it look as if it is not so,” he said.
Musa explained that his meeting with President Tinubu was part of routine consultations on the country’s security situation and said the President expressed satisfaction with the military’s ongoing operations and performance.
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“I just came back from briefing Mr President on the current security situation, and he is very happy with us. We are going to continue doing well,” he said.
The Defence Minister also thanked Nigerians for their continued support for the armed forces, stressing that the fight against terrorism, banditry and other security threats requires sustained collaboration between security agencies and citizens.
“I want to seize this opportunity to appreciate Nigerians for all the support. The support has been massive,” Musa said.
“To defeat the terrorists and the bandits is a whole-of-society approach. Nigerians have keyed into it, and things are getting better, and they will continue to improve.”
His remarks come amid heightened public interest in the country’s security architecture and ongoing military operations aimed at tackling insurgency, banditry and other forms of criminality across several parts of Nigeria.