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.
The provision is designed to prevent the use of public office and state resources to gain an unfair advantage during the electoral process.
The directive applies to ministers, ministers of state, special advisers to the President, senior special assistants, special assistants, personal assistants, directors-general, and chief executive officers of federal parastatals, commissions, agencies, and government-owned companies.
According to its timetable, the Independent National Electoral Commission scheduled party primaries between April 23 and May 30, 2026, with the submission of the names of candidates due by July 11 for presidential and National Assembly elections, and August 8 for governorship and state assembly contests.
Aside from the two ministers, several other appointees have also turned in their resignations.
The Chairman of the Governing Board of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria and former All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in Kano State, Nasiru Gawuna, submitted his resignation in a letter dated March 27, 2026.
“My resignation is in strict compliance with the President’s directive requiring all political appointees to step down in accordance with the provisions of the Electoral Act,” Gawuna, a former deputy governor of Kano State, wrote.
However, sources familiar with the circumstances surrounding Gawuna’s exit confirmed that the former deputy governor has concluded arrangements to defect to the African Democratic Congress in alignment with former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, who recently dumped the New Nigeria People’s Party.
Gawuna is expected to formally join the ADC on Tuesday.
Also, a governing board member of the Niger Delta Development Commission representing the North-East Zone, Abdulrazak Namdas, tendered his resignation on Monday, March 30, in a letter addressed to the SGF.
“I hereby respectfully tender my resignation as a governing board member of the NDDC representing the North-East Zone to pursue my ambition of contesting an elective position in 2027,” Namdas wrote in the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The PUNCH.
The letter, stamped as received at the SGF’s office, was acknowledged by the Permanent Secretary (General Services Office), Dr Abubakar Kana.
Namdas is believed to be eyeing the Adamawa State governorship.
Additionally, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Citizenship and Leadership, Nasir Ja’oji, tendered his resignation over the weekend, his media aide, Abba Anwar, confirmed in a statement.
Ja’oji thanked the President for giving him the opportunity to serve, citing Tinubu’s “concern for Nigerian youth” as the reason he was initially appointed.
As the resignation window closes today, March 31, several other cabinet members and agency heads are expected to resign, multiple reports indicate.
The Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, who has publicly declared his intention to contest the Oyo State governorship, is reportedly consulting over his ambition.
“I have been on this journey for a while now. But this 2027, God has shown that it’s my turn,” Adelabu said in October 2025.
At a press conference he addressed last week, the minister also asked journalists to wait until the deadline.
However, the minister is reportedly studying the latest developments and political realignment in the state.
The Minister of Communications, Innovation and Digital Economy, Bosun Tijani, is also consulting stakeholders over a possible bid for the Ogun governorship, while the Minister of Transportation, Saidu Alkali, is said to be positioning for the Gombe governorship.
Reports also indicate that the Minister of Agriculture, Abubakar Kyari, is being considered as a potential successor to Borno State Governor, Prof Babagana Zulum, while the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, is also reportedly considering a governorship or senatorial bid in Abia State.
However, some of the ministers may have developed “cold feet” as there was no green light for their ambitions.
The wave of resignations is expected to lead to a reshuffling of the Federal Executive Council in the coming weeks.
(Punch)
