Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed, the political adviser to President Bola Tinubu, in the Office of Vice President Kashim Shettima, has tendered his resignation.
According to DAILY TRUST, the former spokesman of the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) submitted his resignation approximately two weeks ago.
While he did not publicly disclose his reasons, sources indicated that he cited personal grounds.
However, as of the time of reporting, it was unclear whether the presidency had accepted his resignation.
Baba-Ahmed’s appointment to the advisory role came in September 2023. Over the past 17 months, he has represented the administration at numerous public engagements, including a recent national conference titled “Strengthening Nigeria’s Democracy: Pathway to Good Governance and Political Integrity,” which took place on January 28-29, 2025, in Abuja.
His tenure was not without controversy. One of the most notable points of contention involved a public disagreement with the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, over comments concerning the Northern Elders Forum.
In April 2024, Matawalle urged northern appointees to defend the Tinubu administration against criticism. This followed Baba-Ahmed’s pushback against the minister’s earlier remarks dismissing NEF as politically insignificant.
“Scathing criticism of NEF by the junior minister of defence, Matawalle, is ill-advised. He could have done a better job for this administration if he identified contributions of especially northern ministers and other appointees like me to improving security and reducing poverty in the North,” Baba-Ahmed had stated.
Matawalle responded by insisting that all government appointees, including Baba-Ahmed, had an obligation to protect and promote the administration’s achievements.
