The Special Adviser on Political Matters in the Office of the Vice President Dr. Hakeem Baba-Ahmed has reportedly resigned from his position.
Truth Live News gathered that Baba-Ahmed, a former spokesman for the Northern Elders Forum was said to have tendered his resignation letter about two weeks ago, Daily Trust had reported.
Although, the Presidency is yet to officially confirm or acknowledge the development, insinuations are that the move must have been neccessitated by the allegation that his loyalty could be divided based on his ties to socio-political interest groups.
Appointed in September 2023, Baba-Ahmed played a visible role in the Tinubu administration, particularly in representing the Presidency at public functions.
While the reason for his resignation remains unclear, his stint in office was not without controversy. One of the most prominent was his public spat with the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Mohammed Matawalle, over comments made about the Northern Elders Forum.
Matawalle had dismissed the NEF as a “political paperweight” after the group claimed that the North erred in voting for Tinubu during the 2023 general election.
Reacting to the Minister’s statement, Baba-Ahmed had said, “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.”
Matawalle had earlier fired back, saying, “Dr. Baba-Ahmed’s relationship and affinity with the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) is well known. As an appointee of this administration, it is his responsibility to work for its success and protect the government against unjust and vicious attacks from those who hide under ethnic and other primordial interests to heat up the polity for myopic reasons.”
The disagreement drew public attention and sparked debate over the loyalty of presidential appointees with strong ties to socio-political interest groups.
Baba-Ahmed, an elder brother to Labour Party’s vice-presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, has yet to make any official statement regarding his reported resignation.