Ahmed Abubakar, the Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, NIA ,resigned on Saturday evening, citing personal and family difficulties.
Abubakar stated this after submitting his resignation letter to President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa in Abuja on Saturday evening.
He stated that the purpose of his visit on Saturday was, among other things, to inform the President on national security problems.
The former NIA Chief thanked the President for allowing him to serve and extended his tenure to the first 15 months of the next administration, having held the position since 2018.
When asked why he resigned, Abubakar told reporters, “There are quite a number of reasons one will do that. Some personal family issues, but nothing very serious, actually, and the friendship will continue.
“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.
“After the briefing, I tendered my resignation, and Mr. President graciously approved and accepted the resignation.
“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 presidents 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 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.“
Former President Muhammadu Buhari named Abubakar as the NIA’s Director General in 2018, and he was extended in office until December 2021.
