Tinubu Reappoints Buba Marwa as NDLEA Chairman for Another Five-Year Tenure

By Ugbede James Ankpa

President Bola Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (retd.) as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term.

The State House confirmed the development on Friday, extending Marwa’s stewardship of the NDLEA until 2031. He was first appointed to the position in January 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Before assuming leadership of the NDLEA, Marwa served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee on the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to December 2020.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, announced the reappointment in a statement dated November 14, 2025, emphasizing Marwa’s broad military and administrative background.

According to the statement, Marwa attended the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, he went on to serve as brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, and later as academic registrar at the NDA.

His international service includes postings as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and later as Defence Adviser at Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

Marwa also holds distinguished academic qualifications, including a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.

Under his leadership, the NDLEA has recorded significant achievements. The State House highlighted key milestones such as the arrest of 73,000 drug traffickers and barons, and seizures exceeding 15 million kilogrammes of illicit substances. The agency has equally strengthened nationwide anti-drug abuse campaigns.

President Tinubu praised Marwa’s contributions, stating: “Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse. I urge you not to relent in tracking the merchants of hard drugs, out to destroy our people, especially the young ones.”

A former military governor of Lagos and Borno states, Marwa is now expected to consolidate the gains achieved during his first tenure and sustain the agency’s ongoing momentum in combating narcotics.

Marwa was born on 9 September 1953 in Kaduna to a military family. His father, Buba Marwa, and his grandfather, Buba Yola, both served in the Nigerian Army. He had his primary education in Enugu, Zaria, Abeokuta, and Lagos (1960–1965), after which he attended the Nigerian Military School, Zaria, from 1966 to 1970. He later completed a regular combatant course at the Nigerian Defence Academy and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Recce Corps in June 1973.

Commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army Reconnaissance Corps before moving to the Armoured Corps, he held several roles, including Brigade Major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of Army Staff, academic registrar of the NDA, and deputy defence adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C. He became Governor of Borno State in 1990 and, in 1992, Defence Adviser at Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

Marwa holds two postgraduate degrees: a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh (1983–85) and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University (1985–86).

He also held several command and staff positions in the Nigerian Army, including Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C.

As Military Governor of old Borno State (now Borno and Yobe states) from June 1990 to 1992, he established the state’s first Ministry of Water Resources and oversaw projects such as road construction and the completion of Maiduguri International Hotel.

His tenure coincided with Idriss Déby’s overthrow of President Hissène Habré, which forced Chadian soldiers across the border into Borno, where some engaged in cross-border raids similar to those later associated with Boko Haram.

In 1992, Marwa was appointed Registrar of the NDA, and in 1993, he returned to foreign service as Defence Attaché at Nigeria’s Mission to the United Nations in New York.

In August 1996, he was appointed Military Administrator of Lagos State, where he led strategic initiatives within a modest N14 billion budget. Notably, he completed his tenure without borrowing from any bank and handed over N2 billion—the largest transition balance at the time.

His exemplary leadership earned him the title of “Nigeria’s Man of the Year 1997” by Newswatch magazine.

According to the presidency, his renewed appointment means the Adamawa-born retired military officer will continue to lead the NDLEA until 2031.