Abuja, 1 December 2025 – Nigeria’s Minister of Defence, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, has tendered his resignation with immediate effect, citing health reasons, the Presidency announced on Monday evening.
In a brief letter dated 1 December and addressed to President Bola Tinubu, the 63-year-old minister informed the President of his decision to step down. President Tinubu has accepted the resignation and expressed gratitude for Mr Badaru’s service to the nation.
A statement signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, read in part: “President Tinubu has accepted the resignation and thanked Abubakar for his services to the nation. President Tinubu will likely inform the Senate of Badaru’s successor later this week.”
Mr Badaru, a two-term governor of Jigawa State who served from 2015 to 2023, was sworn in as Minister of Defence on 21 August 2023, becoming one of the key figures in President Tinubu’s security architecture.
The resignation comes at a particularly sensitive moment for Nigeria’s security apparatus. It follows President Tinubu’s recent declaration of a “national security emergency”, details of which the President is expected to elaborate upon in the coming days. The timing has prompted speculation in political circles, though official sources insist the departure is solely health-related.
No interim arrangements or acting minister have yet been announced. Under the Nigerian Constitution, the President is required to forward the name of a nominee to the Senate for confirmation as replacement.
Mr Badaru’s exit marks the first cabinet resignation in the Tinubu administration on health grounds and comes just over two years into the President’s first term.
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