Heavem Baby-Ahmed resigned after 17 months as political adviser of President Tinubu

Baby-Ahmed, who was appointed in September 2023, served for about 17 months in the administration of Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing the presidency at various public commitments. Dr Hoppeem Baba-Ahmed, the political advisor appointed by President Bola Tinubu to work in the office of Vice President Kashim Shettima, resigned on Thursday from his position, unveiled sources in the presidency on Thursday. Daily Trust reported that Dr. Heavenly Baba-Ahmed, a former Northern Elder Forum (NEF) spokesman, resigned from his role as a special adviser on political issues in the Vice President’s office. According to the report, Baby-Ahmed did not expand on his reasons, saying that his resignation was based on personal grounds. However, from the time of reporting, it remained unclear whether the presidency officially accepted his resignation. Baby-Ahmed, who was appointed in September 2023, served for about 17 months in the administration of Vice President Kashim Shettima, representing the presidency at various public commitments. One of his most recent performances was at the National Conference, ‘Strengthening the Democracy of Nigeria: Road to Good Management and Political Integrity’, held in Abuja from January 28 to January 29. During his tenure, Baba-Ahmed’s role sometimes attracted controversy, especially with defense minister Bello Mohammed Matawalle. Tensions flared in April 2024 when Matawalle requested the northern appointments to defend the Tinubu administration against criticism and misrepresentation, a remark commonly seen as a veiled rebuke of baby-hemed. The remarks of the minister followed Baba-Ahmed’s response to Matawalle’s dismissal of the NEF as a ‘political paperweight’ after the group criticized the North’s support for President Tinubu in the 2023 election. Baby-Ahmed argued that the minister, instead of attacking NEF, had to focus on showing the achievements of the northern appointments to improve safety and reduce poverty. “The shocking criticism of NEF by Junior Defense Minister Matawalle was badly argued,” Baba-Ahmed said. “He could have done a better job for this administration by identifying contributions made by northern ministers and other appointments such as me.” Matawalle later replied, saying that baby-Ahmed, as a presidential appointment, had the duty to defend and promote the administration. “His relationship with the NEF is well known,” the minister said. ‘Appointments must work for the success of the administration and unfair attacks motivated by ethnic or parochial interests.’