President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated General Christopher Gwabin Musa, the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, as Nigeria’s new Defence Minister following the sudden resignation of Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Badaru on Monday based on health grounds.
The appointment was officially communicated in a statement released on Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy. In a formal letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu put forward General Musa as the successor to Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar Badaru.
General Musa is a native of Sokoto State, where he was born in 1967 and completed his early education. He graduated from the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree after being commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.
General Musa who is 58, is a highly decorated officer who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. His military career, marked by both academic and operational excellence, includes receiving the prestigious Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
In his nomination letter, President Tinubu expressed strong confidence in General Musa’s capacity to lead the Ministry of Defence and to further reinforce the country’s national security framework.
His distinguished service features a series of strategic command and staff roles which include being a General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at HQ 81 Division; Commanding Officer of the 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans and Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations, Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps (2019).
General Musa also served as the Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole and the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region (2019); Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai (2021); Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps and Chief of Defence Staff (2023) which was his last role as a military officer before his nomination.
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