Cape Town - The office of ANC chief whip Jackson Mthembu has denied a report carried by IOL earlier on Tuesday saying that he would support a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma by the Economic Freedom Fighters in the National Assembly.
“These claims are baseless and malicious,” Mthembu's spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said.
“The ANC chief whip is not aware of any motion nor does he support any motion by any opposition party. The chief whip nor his office were not even contacted to verify these claims,” he said.
An EFF source told Independent Media earlier on Tuesday that the party had applied to National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete for an urgent vote of no confidence in Zuma to be included in the order paper of Tuesday's sitting.
The source said that the request was with the Speaker who had yet to decide on whether to grant the request. A source also revealed that Mthembu would support the request from the EFF.
But later on Tuesday EFF spokesperson Mbuyiseni Ndlozi denied this.
“EFF does not get involved in squabbles of saving ANC from itself. Let them keep us out of it! Zuma & ANC must fall!” Ndlozi tweeted on Tuesday.
IOL