![President Mutharika and vice president Saulos Chilima]()
Government on Monday cancelled a scheduled news conference in Lilongwe where two senior cabinet ministers were to respond to allegations that President Peter Mutharika is increasingly sidelining the vice president Saulos Chilima.[caption id="attachment_87062" align="alignright" width="600"]
![President Mutharika and vice president Saulos Chilima]()
President Mutharika and vice president Saulos Chilima[/caption]
The news conference was to be jointly addressed by Information Minister Jappie Mhango and Foreign Affairs minister George Chaponda, who is also the ruling party, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice president.
Ministry of Information officials communicated on eleventh hour that the news conference had been cancelled and no reasons were given.
This comes at a time when Mutharika has come under severe criticism for delegating important foreign and local assignments to cabinet ministers, prompting fears that the relationship between the President and vice president is not as cordial as it appears in the face.
However State House had assured Malawians that the relationship between the two is excellent.
Some people allege Mutharika is deliberately sidelining Chilima and will dump him in the 2019 presidential race because of the DPP intraparty politics and infighting on who will succeed Mutharika when he retires.
The government is yet to say whether the news conference has completely been cancelled or it has just been rescheduled.
President Mutharika and vice president Saulos Chilima[/caption]
The news conference was to be jointly addressed by Information Minister Jappie Mhango and Foreign Affairs minister George Chaponda, who is also the ruling party, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) vice president.
Ministry of Information officials communicated on eleventh hour that the news conference had been cancelled and no reasons were given.
This comes at a time when Mutharika has come under severe criticism for delegating important foreign and local assignments to cabinet ministers, prompting fears that the relationship between the President and vice president is not as cordial as it appears in the face.
However State House had assured Malawians that the relationship between the two is excellent.
Some people allege Mutharika is deliberately sidelining Chilima and will dump him in the 2019 presidential race because of the DPP intraparty politics and infighting on who will succeed Mutharika when he retires.
The government is yet to say whether the news conference has completely been cancelled or it has just been rescheduled.