President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd), as the new Minister of Defence following the resignation of Mohammed Badaru Abubakar on Monday.
In a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the President asked the Senate, through its President, Godswill Akpabio, on Tuesday, to provide legislative confirmation for the retired general to assume the role.
General Musa, 58, served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. A recipient of the prestigious Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012, he is regarded as one of the military’s most experienced field commanders.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, Mr Musa completed his early education in the state before attending the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He joined the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1986 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991, the same year he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant.
Over the course of his career, the former CDS held several operational and administrative positions, including General Staff Officer 1 (Training/Operations) at 81 Division Headquarters; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements at the Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative at the Nigerian Army Armour Corps Training Team.
He later served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Training/Operations) at the Infantry Corps headquarters and subsequently commanded Sector 3 of Operation Lafiya Dole and the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Basin.
In 2021, Mr Musa was appointed Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai, the military’s counterinsurgency mission in the North-east. He later headed the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps and, in 2023, was appointed Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu.
President Tinubu expressed confidence in General Musa’s capacity to strengthen Nigeria’s defence management and advance ongoing security reforms.
The nomination awaits Senate screening and confirmation.
