Our Reporter, Abuja
Just as was speculated Monday after the resignation of Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd), as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.
The nomination was contained in a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio and transmitted to the National Assembly on Tuesday, according to a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
General Musa is to replace Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned from the cabinet on Monday on health grounds.
Musa, who turned 58 on December 25, is a career military officer with a service record spanning more than three decades. He served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025 and is a recipient of the prestigious Colin Powell Award for Soldiering, which he won in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa had his primary and secondary education in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1986 and graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree before being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant the same year.
Throughout his career, Musa held several key operational and administrative roles, including General Staff Officer 1 (Training/Operations) at Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements at the Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative on the Training Team at the Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
He also served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Training/Operations) at the Infantry Centre and Corps in 2019, Commander of Sector 3 of Operation Lafiya Dole, and Commander of Sector 3 of the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region.
In 2021, Musa was appointed Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai and later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before his elevation to Chief of Defence Staff in 2023.
President Tinubu, in his communication to the Senate, expressed confidence in Musa’s capacity to strengthen Nigeria’s defence apparatus and advance ongoing reforms within the security sector.
The Senate is expected to screen and confirm the nominee in the coming days.
