President Bola Tinubu is expected to announce a new Minister of Defence this week following the abrupt resignation of Badaru Abubakar, who stepped down citing health concerns.
Abubakar’s resignation, effective immediately, was conveyed in a letter dated December 1 and formally acknowledged by the Presidency on Monday.
Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, confirmed the development in an official statement.
“In a letter dated December 1, sent to President Bola Tinubu, Abubakar said he was quitting on health grounds,”
the statement said.
Onanuga added that the President accepted the resignation and expressed gratitude for Abubakar’s service.
“President Tinubu will likely inform the Senate of Badaru’s successor later this week,”
he said, indicating that the search for a replacement is already in motion.
Abubakar, 63, previously served two terms as Governor of Jigawa State between 2015 and 2023 before being appointed Defence Minister on August 21, 2023. His exit comes at a critical time for the administration, which is confronting a resurgence of insecurity nationwide.
Last week, Tinubu declared a national security emergency, unveiling new measures including the recruitment of 20,000 police officers, deployment of forest guards, and enhanced protection for schools, churches, mosques, and vulnerable communities.
While some analysts have recently called for a leadership change at the Defence Ministry, arguing that Abubakar was underperforming, the Presidency maintained that his departure is strictly related to health issues.
Barely hours before the resignation was made public, President Tinubu held a private meeting with former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa (retd.), at the State House.
It was gathered that Musa arrived at 7:03 p.m., dressed in a dark-green northern-style traditional outfit with elbow-length sleeves. He was escorted into the President’s office wing by a senior security aide.
The meeting — Musa’s first visit to the Villa since his retirement on October 24, 2025 — has intensified speculation about potential candidates for the Defence Ministry.
However, the purpose of the discussion has not been officially disclosed.
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