Nazim: Will continue to serve the nation

Former Minister of Defence Mohamed Nazim has said that he would not accept any government post, but would continue to serve the nation as a politician.

Nazim made this remark at a press conference at DhiTV this afternoon following his dismissal as Defence Minister earlier today.

In his response to a question posed by Sun Online, Nazim implied that he might run for presidency in 2018.

“I have mentioned to my political allies and the President as well, that I haven’t given this much thought. But every Maldivian citizen has the right [to run for presidency]. If I am requested to do so by a significant number of people, god willing, I will do it,” Nazim said.

He said that having served in a high post, he knows classified government information, and that he would give the government sufficient time before “cooperating with opposition groups”.

Referring to the raid of his apartment by the police late on Saturday night, Nazim said that if the police could break into the home of the Defence Minister in the dead of the night, safety and security were no longer guaranteed for any Maldivian citizen.

He said that the President had said that he had not been informed of the operation, but it was unlikely that a raid could be conducted on the residence of the Defence Minister without the knowledge of the President.

Nazim refused to comment on the police operation, and said that information on this issue would be provided by his lawyers and the police.

President Abdulla Yameen dismissed Nazim and appointed former Chief of Defence Force Moosa Ali Jaleel to the post of Minister of Defence today.

Police raided Nazim’s apartment at around 3:15 a.m. on Sunday and confiscated material related to an ongoing investigation.

Nazim assured at today’s press conference that he would fully cooperate with the police in their investigation.