President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the name of former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, to the Senate for conf...
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the name of former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, to the Senate for confirmation as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.
The nomination, conveyed in a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, follows the resignation of the immediate past minister, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, on Monday. The President said General Musa was selected based on his decades of experience in military leadership and his strategic contributions to national security.
General Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, is a career military officer renowned for his service record and professionalism. He was appointed Chief of Defence Staff in 2023 and held the position until October 2025. A recipient of the 2012 Colin Powell Award for Soldiering, Musa has been widely regarded as one of the military’s most accomplished commanders.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa completed his early education in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He later gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1986, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree and receiving a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army.
Over the years, he has held key operational and administrative roles, including General Staff Officer 1 (Training/Operations) at Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; and Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans. He also served as Infantry Representative in the Training Team at the Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
His frontline counter-insurgency experience includes serving as Deputy Chief of Staff (Training/Operations) at the Infantry Centre and Corps in 2019, as well as Commander of Sector 3 under Operation Lafiya Dole and later the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region. In 2021, he was appointed Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai before later becoming Commander of the Infantry Corps.
In 2023, President Tinubu appointed him Chief of Defence Staff, a role in which he coordinated joint military operations nationwide until 2025.
In his communication to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence that General Musa would bring renewed vigour to the Ministry of Defence and help consolidate ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening the country’s security architecture.
No comments