Minister of Defence Badaru was forced to resign- Sowore
‘Ineffective Bello Matawalle is next’
Human rights activist and publisher, Omoyele Sowore, has claimed that the Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, was forced to resign by President Bola Tinubu following pressure from the United States of America to act decisively on insecurity in the country.
Sowore, also a chieftain of the African Action Congress (AAC) dismissed the claim that Badaru resigned his appointment on health grounds.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, had on Monday evening tweeted that Badaru had tendered his resignation letter to the president, citing health issues.
He said the resignation letter was dated December 1, 2025 and would take immediate effect.
Reaction in a post on his official Facebook page, Sowore claimed that the Minister was asked to resign to pave the way for the appointment of former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, as Defence Minister.
The activist claimed that the Nigerian government was under pressure from the U.S. government to take charge of the worsening security situation in the country.
He alleged that the Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, was next as he had been of no value to the ministry
Sowore wrote that there were strong indications that US military was pressing for the removal of “the equally ineffective and utterly useless Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, citing serious concerns over intelligence sharing and collaboration.”.
Meanwhile, social media is rife with speculation about the next Minister of Defence. Many expressed their opinion online that the immediate past Chief of Defence would be a good fit for the role.
An X user, @nafiumohammad wrote: “See how everyone (Hausa, Fulani, Yoruba, Muslims, Christians, and pagans) is calling for the appointment of former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa (rtd), as defence minister, that’s what competence gets you.”
@FLEXIBLE QUEEN👸♥️wrote: “With the intelligence, aura, courage, and integrity this man possesses, he deserves to be the Minister of Defence.”
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