President Bola Tinubu is expected to name a new Minister of Defence immediately following the sudden resignation of the incumbent, Badaru Abubakar, who stepped down from the cabinet on health grounds.
In the wake of the announcement, strong indications suggest that the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa (retd.), is the leading candidate to take over the role.
The Presidency announced Abubakar’s resignation in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, stating that the minister quit “on health grounds.”
In the statement, Onanuga said: “President Tinubu has accepted the resignation and thanked Abubakar for his services to the nation. President Tinubu will likely inform the Senate of Badaru’s successor later this week.”
The development comes at a critical time for the administration, which recently declared a nationwide security emergency amidst persistent insecurity.
Coincidentally, just hours before the resignation was made public, President Tinubu held a private meeting with General Musa at the State House in Abuja. This was Musa’s first known meeting with the President since his retirement on October 24, 2025, fuelling widespread speculation about his imminent return to a top security portfolio.
Musa, who served as Chief of Defence Staff until last month, was among the service chiefs relieved in a major military reshuffle which the Presidency said “was aimed at strengthening the nation’s security architecture.”
His meeting with the President on Monday evening, during which he was led into the office wing by a senior security official, is widely interpreted within political and security circles as a sign of his likely appointment.
If selected, Musa would bring extensive operational experience to the role at a time when the Tinubu administration is intensifying efforts to combat terrorism, banditry, and other security challenges. The former defence chief is seen as a firm and strategic officer familiar with the current security landscape.
The President is expected to make a final decision and transmit a nominee’s name to the Senate for confirmation in the coming days.
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