Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has resigned his position with immediate effect.
Hikaya Newspaper reports that his resignation was conveyed in a letter dated December 1 and addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, in which he stated that he was stepping down on health grounds.
President Tinubu has accepted the resignation and expressed gratitude for Abubakar’s service to the nation. The President is expected to communicate the name of Badaru’s successor to the Senate later this week.
Abubakar, 63, previously served as the two-term governor of Jigawa State from 2015 to 2023 before his appointment as Minister of Defence on August 21, 2023.
His departure comes at a time when President Tinubu has declared a national security emergency, with further details on the scope of the emergency to be announced in due course.