Why I Quit As NIA Boss –Rufai Abubakar

Mallam Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, the former Director General of the National Intelligence Agency, (NIA), who resigned Saturday has given reasons for his resignation.

Abubakar who tendered his resignation letter to President Bola Tinubu at the Aso Rock Villa, Abuja, on Saturday spoke to journalists shortly after seeing the president.

The former NIA boss cited personal and family issues as his reasons for resigning from office.

“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,” he said.

“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 also expressed gratitude to the President for allowing him to serve for the first 15 months of the new administration, having occupied the office since 2018.

“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,” Abubakar said.

He was first appointed DG of the NIA in 2018 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, who extended his stay in office in December 2021.

Abubakar, a 71-year-old retired career foreign service officer from Katsina State, joined the security department of the Nigerian Foreign Service in 1993.

In 2015, he was appointed Senior Special Assistant to the President (SSAP) on International Relations and Foreign Affairs.

He attended Bayero University, Kano, where he bagged bachelor’s and master’s degrees in French.

He also speaks English and Arabic.