President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.
The nomination was conveyed in a letter sent to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday.
General Musa is to replace Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned from the position on Monday.
According to the letter, President Tinubu said he was confident that the retired general would strengthen the country’s security system. “further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture,” the President said.
General Musa, who will turn 58 on 25 December, served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 to October 2025. He received the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, he attended primary and secondary school in the state before enrolling at the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He graduated in 1986 and joined the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991.
He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991 and has held several command and staff appointments in the Nigerian Army.
These include General Staff Officer 1 Training/Operations at Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative and Member of the Training Team at Headquarters Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, General Musa served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Training/Operations at the Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps, Commander of Sector 3 Operation Lafiya Dole, and Commander of Sector 3 Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region.
He was appointed Theatre Commander Operation Hadin Kai in 2021. He later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before Being appointed Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023.
The Senate is expected to screen and confirm the nomination.
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