Ahmed Rufai Abubakar
UPDATED: Why I resigned as NIA DG, by Abubakar
Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) Ahmad Rufai Abubakar on Saturday tendered his resignation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House.
Speaking to journalists after his meeting with Tinubu, Abubakar revealed that his decision was due to personal and family issues, emphasising that nothing was seriously amiss.
He expressed gratitude for the understanding shown by Tinubu and stressed that his friendship with the President would endure.
The outgoing DG pledged to remain vigilant and concerned about the nation’s security situation, indicating his continued commitment to Nigeria’s well-being despite his resignation.
“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 promise to remain with issues and the security situations of the country,” he said.
Abubakar expressed gratitude to the President for the opportunity to serve as DG for seven years, while he appreciated his willingness to listen to his briefings and advice.
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The outgoing DG highlighted his pride in mentoring younger officers, ensuring a strong succession plan, noting that many capable officers are equipped to excel in the role, leaving a legacy of a well-prepared and competent intelligence agency.
“I think, I think it’s not for me to say this, actually, probably 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 advices and so on.
“I think this is 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 to
mentor officers and staff for all the period that I’ve 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 many officers who can do this job and do it excellently well,” he said.
He revealed that President Tinubu graciously approved and accepted his resignation, acknowledging the rarity of serving two presidents consecutively, a testament to his dedication and expertise in national intelligence.
“After the briefing today, actually 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 a period, for an extended period of 15 months, which is very rare, by the way, to serve, to have the opportunity to serve two Presidents at a stretch, at a go,” he said.
The exiting NIA was first appointed in 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who extended his stay in office in December 2021.
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