Nigeria's Vice President Atiku Abubakar says he will never be involved in any plot to overthrow the country's democratic government.
His statement follows Nigerian newspaper reports alleging that supporters of President Olusegun Obasanjo were planning to falsely accuse the vice president of plotting a coup in a bid to force him from office.
In his statement late Monday, Mr. Atiku also denied rumors that he plans to resign.
There have been reports of a strain between the vice president and Mr. Obasanjo over who will run in the 2007 presidential elections.
Nigeria's constitution requires Mr. Obasanjo to step down in 2007 after serving two terms as president. However, his supporters are campaigning to amend the document so Mr. Obasanjo can run again.
Some information for this report provided by Reuters.