Former Chief of Air Staff quits active politics

A former Chief of the Air Staff, Saddique Abubakar, has announced his retirement from active politics following a five-year stint in the political arena.

The former CAS made his foray into active politics in 2021, immediately after retiring from the Nigerian Air Force (NAF). 

He later secured the ticket of the All Progressives Congress to contest the Bauchi State governorship seat in the 2023 general elections, which he lost to the incumbent governor, Bala Mohammed. 

In a message posted on his ‘X’ handle, he said, “I say Good bye to the murky waters of Nigerian Politics. I no longer belong to any political party and will therefore not vie for any office. However I will continue to support ordinary Nigerians to the best of my ability.”

Abubakar served as Chief of Air Staff from 2015 to 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.

 His retirement was immediately followed by a brief diplomatic assignment as Nigeria’s Ambassador to the Niger Republic before he resigned to pursue his governorship ambition.

The state’s 2023 governorship election was one of the most fiercely contested in the Northeast. 

However, after losing to Governor Mohammed of the Peoples Democratic Party, his political career entered a quiet phase, punctuated by recent rumours of a planned defection to the ADP.