President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd), as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.
The nomination was conveyed to the Senate on Tuesday through a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio. The development was later confirmed in a statement issued by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
General Musa is to replace Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned from the Federal Executive Council on Monday over health concerns.
Musa, who will turn 58 on December 25, is widely regarded as one of the country’s most seasoned infantry commanders. He served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025 and received the prestigious Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa had his early education in the state before attending the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He joined the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1986 and graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree, earning a commission as a Second Lieutenant.
Over more than three decades of military service, he held several strategic operational and command roles, including General Staff Officer 1 (Training and Operations) at Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative on the Training Team at the Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
He served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Training/Operations) at the Infantry Centre and Corps in 2019; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and later Commander, Sector 3, Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) in the Lake Chad Basin.
In 2021, he was appointed Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, the military’s major counterterrorism campaign in the Northeast. He also led the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before his appointment as CDS in 2023 by President Tinubu.
In his letter to the Senate, President Tinubu said Musa’s deep operational background and leadership track record make him well suited to head the Defence Ministry at a time the administration is pushing reforms to modernise the country’s security infrastructure.
The Senate is expected to begin screening the nominee in the coming days.
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