In pursuit of his 2023 presidential ambition, Emeka Nwajiuba, has resigned his appointment as the Minister of State for Education, this is just as his counterpart, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Wednesday, also announced his resignation from the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari.

Nwajiuba, who is seeking to run for president on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC), resigned from office on Wednesday in Abuja.

In a similar development, the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Wednesday, announced his resignation from the cabinet of President Muhammadu Buhari and also announced that contrary to belief in some quarters, he was still in the presidential race.

President Buhari had, on Wednesday afternoon, ordered ministers in his cabinet who had political ambition to resign from the government and following his announcement, there were reports in the media that Akpabio had dropped his presidential ambition, preferring to be in the cabinet.

However, Akpabio, speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Jackson Udom, on Wednesday evening, disclosed that contrary to the report, he had actually resigned from the cabinet in order to pursue his presidential aspiration.

According to the statement by Udom: “Our attention has been drawn to mischievously written news stories making the rounds that the leading presidential aspirant, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has purportedly withdrawn from the presidential race. This is a joke carried too far.

The announcement by the two ministers came a few hours after President Muhammadu Buhari ordered members of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) seeking to vie for any elective position to drop their appointment.

President Buhari had issued the directive while presiding over the weekly FEC meeting at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

This directive, however, excludes the Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, because he is an elected member of the cabinet.

Other ministers affected Rotimi Amaechi (Transportation), Chris Ngige (Labour and Employment), Ogbonnaya Onu (Science, Technology, and Innovation), and Timipre Sylva (Petroleum Resources – State.

All of these ministers are presidential aspirants and have bought the nomination and expression of interest forms of the ruling APC.

Others affected by the directive are Minister of Justice and Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, and Minister of State for Mines and Steel, Uche Ogar, who are governorship aspirants in Kebbi and Abia respectively, as well as Minister of Women Affairs, Pauline Tallen, who has declared interest to contest for a senatorial seat in Plateau State.