I Have Not Resigned – Gusau

Trouble lies ahead as Defence Minister, Jonathan disagree

Defence Minister Aliyu Mohammed Gusau says he has not resigned, contrary to reports yesterday claiming that he submitted a letter indicating his intention to quit over a disagreement with the Military top brass.
A spokesman for Gusau told Daily Trust that the retired lieutenant-general remained in his position, in which he has spent barely a week.
The Presidency also said reports about the minister’s resignation were incorrect.
But Daily Trust learnt from sources close to Gusau that there is some disagreement between the Defence Minister and President Goodluck Jonathan over the level of powers that the minister would exercise.
One of the sources said the new Defense minister may have begun his tenure on a wrong footing as, shortly after he was sworn in last week, President Jonathan appeared to have had a rethink on giving him a free hand to run the security services as Minister of Defense and Coordinating Minister for Security.
This arrangement is akin to the role being played by the Minister of Finance Ngozi Okwonjo-Iweala, who is also the Coordinating Minister for the Economy.
The source said the President told Gusau last week that the service chiefs will continue to report to him as Commander-in-Chief and the new minister will also have nothing to do with procurement matters.
This did not appear to have gone down well with Gusau, who was said to have first received assurances on the powers he would wield before he agreed to accept the ministerial appointment.
Another source told Daily Trust that even while denying the resignation story to some of his close confidants yesterday, General Gusau mentioned that there is disagreement between him and President Jonathan on his portfolio.
He said he wanted to have a coordinating role on the security services in order to tackle the security challenges that warranted his surprise emergence as minister in Jonathan’s government.
Gusau was National Security Adviser to Jonathan for six months before he was replaced with the late General Patrick Owoye Azazi in September 2010.
Sources told Daily Trust that before taking up the ministerial job, Gusau had given some conditions, including that the service chiefs would report to him directly and he in turn reports to president.

‘Disloyalty’
Media reports yesterday said Gusau submitted a resignation letter because of what he considered disloyalty on the part of the service chiefs.
The Defence Minister had called for a meeting with the military heads but only the Chief of Defence Staff Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh appeared, telling him that the other officers needed not be there, the reports said.
But President Jonathan rejected the resignation and pleaded with Gusau to stay on. He also sent emissaries to further persuade him, according to the reports.
Rumours heightened on the resignation when Gusau failed to attend the weekly Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House in Abuja yesterday.
But when Daily Trust asked Gusau’s spokesman Mr Adebisi Adekunle if the minister had indeed resigned, he said: “It is not true, please. The report is false and unfounded.”
Also, spokesman for the Defence Ministry Shehu Maikai said in a text message: “Our attention has been drawn to a media posting on social network to the effect that the Honourable Minister of Defence, Lt Gen 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. Gen. Aliyu Gusau remains the Minister of Defence.”
Later on, Presidential spokesman Reuben Abati spoke at a news conference in Abuja, where he denied the resignation reports.
“General Gusau remains in office as Minister of Defence. He was absent at today’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting with the permission….of Mr President,” he said.
“The story is not true. He remains in office. He himself has clarified and issued a statement. I think this further clarification is necessary before we are confronted with a situation whereby all kinds of stories emanate from speculation and the story begins to develop undesirable branches.”
Gusau, 70, first served as NSA for seven years till 2006 during the tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo. He was reappointed by then-Acting President Jonathan on March 8, 2010 and resigned six months later.
General Gusau is considered an astute intelligence operative with strong links across the global intelligence community.
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