With today’s deadline for cabinet members and appointees of the government seeking elective offices to resign, expectations mount over who will step down to pursue elective offices ahead of the 2027 elections.
The directive mandating political appointees to resign at the latest by that date has triggered intense speculation within government circles and across the political landscape.
So far, the resignations of Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar and the Minister of State for Humanitarian Affairs, Yusuf Sununu, have heightened the sense of anticipation.
The duo resigned from President Bola Tinubu’s cabinet to contest elective positions in the 2027 general elections.
Tuggar, who hails from Gamawa Local Government Area of Bauchi State, resigned on Monday to pursue the governorship of Bauchi State, the ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, confirmed to one of our correspondents.
“The resignation of the Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs is confirmed,” Ebienfa told The PUNCH earlier, before an official statement was issued on Monday.
In the official statement, Tuggar’s Special Adviser on Media and Communications Strategy, Alkasim Abdulkadir, had disclosed the minister’s intention, stating, “The minister is interested and aspires to run for the governorship seat of Bauchi State.”In his resignation letter, Tuggar expressed gratitude to President Tinubu for the opportunity to implement the administration’s 4D foreign policy strategy.
The Ministry said his tenure was marked by several achievements, including humanitarian evacuations of Nigerians abroad, the development of a Nigerians-in-Diaspora database, deeper engagement with partners in the Global South, the formation of the Regional Partnership for Democracy, and diplomatic interventions that secured the release of detained Nigerians in foreign countries.
Also on Monday, Sununu formally resigned to contest the Kebbi State senatorial seat.
Before his appointment as minister of state in August 2023, Sununu had represented the Yauri/Shanga/Ngaski Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, where he chaired the Committee on Healthcare Services.
The President had ordered that appointees seeking elective offices resign their positions by March 31 at the latest.
The circular, signed by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, and issued by the Permanent Secretary (General Services Office), Dr Ibrahim Kana, stated that the directive was “pursuant to the provisions of Section 88(1) of the Electoral Act, 2026, as well as the timetable issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission for party primaries ahead of the 2027 general elections.”
Section 88(1) of the Electoral Act 2026 requires political appointees, including ministers, advisers, and heads of government agencies, to resign their positions before they can participate in party primaries or be nominated for any elective office.
