Reuben Abati said Ogiadhome was not sacked.

The presidency has confirmed the resignation of the Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, Mike Ogiadhome.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, who made the confirmation, said Mr. Ogiadhome resigned to pursue his political ambitions.

Mr. Abati said the resignation follows the call by President Jonathan to members of his cabinet who have political ambitions to resign their appointments.

“Nothing extensive to say other than to confirm that the chief of staff has resigned his appointment and it has nothing to do with the speculation that one online (medium) has tried to put out.

“The president received the letter today which is titled letter of resignation and it says he wishes to pursue other political necessities in our great party,” Mr. Abati said.

“You would recall that about two weeks ago before the president travelled to Ethiopia, he announced in council that if there was any member of the cabinet or any major political appointee who wants to pursue some other political roles- that he had been hearing rumours that some people maybe wanted to go and pursue other things in whatever capacity- that such people are going to be engaged heavily in political activities, they should let him know. And if they see that they are going to be really busy, and such activities may occupy their time extraordinarily, they should please step aside or come and see him for discussion. That you can confirm. It happened in the open floor of the council. And you can see what I have pointed out as the reason for the chief of staff’s resignation is in line with that.

“So, we find the speculation particularly by some of the online platforms callous, completely unreasonable considering that this is a man who has… given time and energy to the pursuit of the good interest of our country. Mr. President appreciates his contributions and he would like to put on record that indeed he was a man who discharged his responsibilities diligently and the country is very grateful to him and the president personally would like to wish him well in his future endeavours”.

Mr. Ogiadhome is from Edo State and is believed to be interested in running for the governorship election in the state.

The spokesperson said there is no replacement yet for Mr. Ogiadhome.