Eshioromeh Sebastian in Abuja
The clock has finally run out on President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet appointees with political ambitions, as the March 31 deadline forces a wave of resignations that is set to trigger a major shake-up of the Federal Executive Council.
After days of foot-dragging and last-minute consultations at the Presidential Villa, the first official resignation came yesterday from the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, who formally stepped down to pursue the governorship of Bauchi State. His departure was quickly followed by a valedictory ceremony organised by the ministry in Abuja, where colleagues gathered to acknowledge his tenure, which saw the implementation of the President’s 4D foreign policy agenda focusing on democracy, development, demography, and diaspora engagement.
Tuggar’s resignation letter, submitted to the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, expressed deep appreciation to President Tinubu for the opportunity to serve, and his exit is widely seen as the first domino to fall in what insiders describe as a significant thinning of the cabinet ranks.
Behind the walls of Aso Rock, however, the atmosphere has been anything but orderly. Multiple sources within the presidency revealed that several ministers spent much of Monday engaged in frantic consultations, not because they were unsure about their political ambitions, but because they were desperately seeking signals from the top about whether they would retain any form of endorsement or political cover after stepping down.
Spear News Nigeria gathered that some ministers had been hoping for a personal nod from the President before handing in their letters, a calculation that has since been dismissed by the administration. The directive from the President has been clear and unyielding: all resignations must go through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and no one should interpret their exit as carrying any presidential blessing for their political pursuits.
Spear News Nigeria also gathered that the President is determined to avoid any appearance of favouritism that could disrupt ongoing discussions around consensus candidates within the All Progressives Congress. Among those who remained undecided until late Monday night were the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi from Sokoto State, and the Minister of State for Labour, Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha from Abia State.
The hesitation is not mere indecision but a calculated response to a rapidly shifting political landscape within the ruling party. Across the APC, influential governors and sitting lawmakers are aggressively lobbying for automatic tickets to retain their positions, while party leaders are increasingly turning to consensus arrangements that are negotiated behind closed doors rather than through open primaries.
For Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, she has a distinct advantage: the current occupant of the seat she seeks is a member of the Labour Party, which is the ruling party in the state.
But for a serving minister hoping to transition into a governorship or senate seat, resigning too early carries a terrifying risk: surrendering the visibility, resources, and federal platform of a cabinet position only to discover that the party ticket has already been stitched up by local power brokers in a private meeting.
One political insider familiar with the discussions likened the situation to walking off a moving train without knowing whether the station ahead even exists.
President Tinubu’s deliberate decision to remain neutral and refrain from endorsing any particular aspirant has only deepened the uncertainty, as ministers now find themselves forced to gamble on their political futures without any assurance of where the President’s influence might ultimately land.
The Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Yusuf Tanko Sununu, has already thrown his hat into the ring, resigning to seek the APC ticket for the Kebbi Central Senatorial Zone. Similarly, Abdulrazak Namdas, who serves as the North East representative on the Niger Delta Development Commission’s governing board, has stepped down to chase the governorship of Adamawa State.
Beyond these confirmed exits, speculation is swirling around at least seven other cabinet members who are believed to be seriously considering their own political runs. These include the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who is rumoured to be eyeing the Oyo State governorship; the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, reportedly interested in Borno State’s top job; and Ahmed Alkali, said to have ambitions in Gombe State.
Other names that have surfaced in political circles include Senator Atiku Bagudu, Muhammad Ali Pate, and Dave Umahi, though none of them had officially confirmed their intentions as of press time. The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has repeatedly denied any interest in running for governor of Lagos State, yet an aide to the minister offered a notably guarded response when asked about his plans, simply stating that time would soon reveal all.
A valedictory session of the Federal Executive Council has been scheduled for Wednesday, and political observers are watching closely to see whether President Tinubu will use that gathering as a launching pad for a broader cabinet restructuring.
Sources within the presidency suggest that the President is likely to seize this moment of transition to reshape his governing team in significant ways, potentially merging or renaming certain ministries, elevating junior ministers to take over vacant portfolios, and bringing in fresh faces from outside the current cabinet.
There is also speculation that some of those who lost out during the recent APC National Convention and the subsequent reconstitution of the party’s National Working Committee may find their way into the new cabinet as a form of political compensation.
Meanwhile, the list of political appointees beyond the cabinet who are also making moves includes Pius Akuta, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, who is targeting the Benue State governorship; Dr Mathias Byuan, an executive director at the Federal Housing Authority, who also has his eyes on Benue; and both Dr Issa Onilu, the Director General of the National Orientation Agency, and Professor Abubakar Suleiman, the Director General of the Nigeria Institutes of Legislative and Democratic Studies, who are reportedly competing for influence in Kwara State’s gubernatorial race.
As the March 31 deadline officially passes today, the Federal Executive Council stands on the brink of its most dramatic transformation since President Tinubu took office, and while the departure of experienced ministers raises legitimate concerns about policy continuity in critical areas such as power, health, and transportation, the impending reshuffle also offers the administration a rare opportunity to realign its priorities and sharpen its focus ahead of the 2027 elections.
For now, the corridors of the Villa remain charged with tension, as the last of the undecided ministers finally make their moves and the President prepares to unveil his next cabinet. The shopping for green lights may be over, but the real contest for power, tickets, and portfolios has only just begun.
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