Speaker of the People's Majlis Abdul Raheem Abdulla has returned to the Maldives.
The speaker returned on Tuesday night.
Several media outlets from the Maldives were waiting at Velana International Airport (VIA) to meet him at his scheduled arrival time.
However, Abdul Raheem left the airport for Malé, evading journalists.
According to a journalist from RaajjeTV who went to the airport, journalists realized Abdul Raheem had his vehicle drive directly to the apron to pick him up instead of exiting through the terminal. They made this observation when several vehicles, including the one carrying Abdul Raheem, sped away at a high speed, mirroring an evident attempt to avoid the press.
Abdul Raheem who also serves as the Chairperson of the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), has arrived in Malé at a time there have been reports spreading about efforts to remove him from his position as the Speaker of the People's Majlis and isolate him from the ruling party’s operations. In addition to this, media reports suggest that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stopped seeking Abdul Raheem’s advice on several matters.
President Muizzu abruptly dismissed Abdul Raheem’s son, Ibrahim Faisal, who held the position of Minister of Tourism in Muizzu's cabinet, on Tuesday.
Shedding light on the matter, in a phone interview with 'Dhauru' newspaper while in Malaysia, Abdul Raheem said there was no reason to dismiss Faisal and that if the relationship with President Muizzu was good, the president would not have taken such a step.
Abdul Raheem also stated that Faisal's dismissal was something the President did "very poorly.”