Breaking:PRESIDENT TINUBU NOMINATES GENERAL CHRISTOPHER MUSA AS NEW MINISTER OF DEFENCE

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has put forward the name of General Christopher Gwabin Musa for appointment as the new Minister of Defence.

The nomination was announced in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, and circulated to journalists in Abuja.

In a formal letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu presented General Musa as the nominee to take over from Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned on Monday.

General Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, is a seasoned military officer who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. He is also a recipient of the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering, which he received in 2012.

Born in Sokoto in 1967, General Musa completed his primary and secondary education in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He graduated in 1986 and joined the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991.

Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, he has built an illustrious career in the Nigerian Army. His postings include 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/Member of the Training Team at the Nigerian Army Armour Corps Headquarters.

In 2019, he held several key positions, including Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations at the Infantry Centre and Corps Headquarters; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3 of the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region.

By 2021, General Musa was appointed Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai. He later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before being named Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023.

In his letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed strong confidence in General Musa’s capacity to lead the Ministry of Defence and bolster Nigeria’s security framework.