I Nearly Resigned as Minister

Former Minister of Information and Culture Lai Mohammed has said he once considered resigning from office due to intense pressure linked to major national crises during the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mohammed made the disclosure on Thursday during an interview on News Central TV programme, 60 Minutes with Mr Kay, while discussing about his new book, ‘Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments That Defined an Administration.’

Asked to identify the most challenging moment of his eight years in office, Mohammed said, “There was a moment that I actually contemplated resigning because of the pressure.”

He added that the pressure extended beyond public criticism and media scrutiny, affecting his family.

I Nearly Resigned as Minister - Lai Mohammed — I Nearly Resigned as Minister – Lai Mohammed

According to him, the pressure escalated to the point where his family had to intervene, urging him to leave office.

“In particular, the #EndSARS episode created a tense moment between me and my family, to the extent that there was a family meeting, and I was persuaded and advised to resign,” he said.

“The details are defined in this book of how it was finally resolved,” he added, referring to the decision that led him to remain in office despite the pressure.

The former minister also identified another defining and difficult episode of his tenure as the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, which he said intensified the pressure he faced as the government’s chief spokesperson.

“Another moment I will probably forget in a hurry is the decision to suspend the services on Twitter in Nigeria. Again, there are so many false narratives as to why the services of Twitter were suspended in Nigeria.”