President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ordered Tourism Minister Ali Waheed to resign from the cabinet. The president made the order following several complaints of misconduct.
Spokesperson of the President’s Office Ibrahim Hood confirmed the move, and said the president ordered the tourism minister’s resignation after having received multiple complainta of alleged misconduct that are said to have taken place within the ministry. The same complaints had been also filed at the Gender Ministry, said Hood.
Minister Ali Waheed has not made a comment regarding the resignation order, or the allegations against him. Instead, he posted a quote, ‘this too shall pass’, in local dialect on social media platform Twitter, and wrote that he was proud to have served the people and the nation with honesty. He claimed that ‘time will tell the truth’ and said the ‘truth will always prevail’.
Recently, audio clips alleged to be of the minister was leaked by a twitter user in which a conversation that is to have taken place between the minister and his close aides, and a telephone conversation between the minister and Transport Minister Aishath Nahula are heard. While vulgar language and profanities are heard, and obscene topics are discussed in the audio clips, the minister has insisted that the clips are a hoax, and has asserted his innocence. The minister claims that the clips were an attempt to defame him.
