After Badaru’s Exit, Matawalle Could Follow as Tinubu Implements Trump-Inspired Security Measures – Top Presidency Insider

There are indications that the ongoing implementation of United States President Donald Trump’s recipe for ending Nigeria’s security crisis may see President Bola Tinubu dropping more top players in the nation’s security sector.

This follows the resignation of Abubakar Badaru as Nigeria’s defence minister, with immediate effect.

A top Presidency source told BusinessDay on Monday night that Badaru’s resignation is part of the ongoing efforts to effectively tackle insecurity.

The source, who does not want his name in print, told BusinessDay that ” More of these developments will be unfolded very soon, as part of the recent declaration of a national security emergency”.

Recall that Bayo Onanuga, Presidential Spokesman, had, in a statement, said Badaru had, in a letter dated December 1, said he was “quitting on health grounds”.

Onanuga confirmed that the President “will elaborate more on the scope of these security measures in due course”.

A BusinessDay presidency source, however, revealed that “external pressures are at play, as the President was initially reluctant to drop his friend from the plum job.”

On why the President was initially reluctant to drop Badaru, he revealed that the former defence minister was one of his main backers for the ticket of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential race.

“Do not forget that it was Badaru as Governor of Jigawa, working with Atiku Bagudu of Kebbi and Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state, that prevailed on late former President Muhammadu Buhari and the party to give President Tinubu the ticket,” our source recalled.

BusinessDay also gathered that Bello Matawalle, Minister of State for Defence, may go.

The US government, in the wake of recent heightened insecurity in Nigeria, had insisted that President Tinubu must, as an urgent policy, restructure his security architecture or risk the US military invasion.

This was preceded by the declaration of Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” by Donald Trump.

“The United States gave the President strong conditions, including dropping anyone with unclean records, including corruption and previous relationships with these bandits, in whatever form.”

Nigeria and the United States are currently carrying out high-level security actions as part of a follow-up to the recent visit to the United States by Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Advisor, where he met with Pete Hegseth, the US Secretary of War, and his team in Washington, DC.

BusinessDay checks also revealed that President Tinubu met behind closed doors with Christopher Musa, the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, on Monday, shortly before the Minister’s resignation.

All things being equal, Musa is being primed to return in a yet-to-be-unveiled capacity.

“There is no going back; the President intends to put this ugly insecurity challenge behind him,” the source said.

“As I speak to you, the President said he will not want to use insecurity in campaigns in 2027. The President wants to focus squarely on rebuilding Nigeria’s battered economy and not spend our hard-earned resources on prosecuting insecurity.

“Apart from the ugly incidents of kidnapping for ransom, killing of our farmers and creating tensions across the country, the number of our soldiers killed by these terrorists gives Mr President sleepless nights.”

The President, who accepted Badaru’s resignation, commended him for his services to the nation and promised to inform the Senate of his successor later this week.

Badaru Abubakar, 63, was a two-term governor of Jigawa state from 2015 to 2023. He was appointed as a minister on August 21, 2023, by President Tinubu.