Ahmed Abubakar, the director general of the National Intelligence Agency, announced his resignation on Saturday night, citing a variety of personal and family-related reasons.
Abubakar made this statement on Saturday night at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja, following his resignation letter submitted to President Bola Tinubu.
He stated that one of the purposes of the visit on Saturday was to update the President on matters pertaining to national security.
After holding the position since 2018, the former NIA Chief thanked the President for granting him permission to continue in that capacity for the first 15 months of the incoming administration.
Abubakar said to reporters, “There are quite a number of reasons one will do that,” in response to questions about his resignation. “There are a few private family matters, nothing too significant really, and the friendship will endure.
“I discussed with Mr. President, he understood very well, and I promised to remain steadfast with issues and the security situations of the country.”
He continued, “It’s a routine thing, from time to time, to brief Mr. President on security issues, and today is no exception.
“I thanked him for giving me the opportunity to serve Nigeria under his transformational leadership for an extended period of 15 months, which is very rare; to have the opportunity to serve two President at a stretch. So I thanked him very well, and I promised to remain professionally dedicated to our country.”
When asked about the President’s reaction to his resignation, Abubakar declined to answer in clear terms saying such details are better revealed by the President himself or the National Security Adviser, Mr. Nuhu Ribadu, in whose company he arrived at the Villa.
“I think it’s not for me to say this. I’ll be breaching a protocol. But maybe the NSA and or Mr. President himself will say it.
“But what I can tell you is that I’m very grateful for the opportunity that the President gave me to serve the country and his leadership; the encouragement I got, the confidence he had in me and in my service, the opportunity to listen to me, to read briefing notes and advice and so on.
“I think this, for me, is everything and I have had the opportunity to mentor officers and staff for all the period I have been DG. This is the seventh year by the way, and the opportunity to mentor younger officers to come up, and now we have a lot of officers who can do this job excellently well.“
Abubakar was first appointed DG of the NIA in 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who extended his stay in office in December 2021.
