On Saturday, Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), resigned from his position, submitting his resignation to President Bola Tinubu.
Abubakar shared this information with State House reporters following his meeting with the President.
While he did not reveal the reason for his resignation, he mentioned that he discussed the matter with Tinubu, who was understanding.
During his visit to the Presidential Villa, Abubakar stated that he came to brief the President on various issues, and his resignation was part of this discussion.
“After the briefing, I tendered my resignation and Mr President graciously approved and accepted the resignation.”
He said he also used the opportunity to thank Tinubu “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 presidents at a stretch.”
Despite his resignation, Abubakar pledged to stay professionally committed to Nigeria.
When questioned about his unusual decision to resign, the former NIA Director General indicated that there was no serious issue at hand.
Although he attributed his decision to personal and family matters, he did not reveal the specific reasons.
“There are quite a number of reasons one would do that. Some personal, family issues. But nothing very serious actually.
“I discussed with Mr President, he understood very well and I promised to remain committed with issues under security situations in the country,” he stated.
Ahmed Rufai Abubakar was appointed Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) in 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who extended his tenure in December 2021.
Abubakar, a 71-year-old retired career foreign service officer from Katsina State, began his career in the Nigerian Foreign Service’s security department in 1993.
In 2015, he was appointed Senior Special Assistant to the President on International Relations and Foreign Affairs.
He earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in French from Bayero University in Kano and is also proficient in English and Arabic.
