President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has forwarded the name of General Christopher Gwabin Musa to the Senate for confirmation as the new Minister of Defence.
In a letter addressed to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the President announced General Musa as the replacement for Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who stepped down from the position on Monday.
The 58-year-old retired Chief of Defence Staff, who marks his birthday on December 25, is a highly decorated officer and recipient of the 2012 Colin Powell Award for Soldiering.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa completed his primary and secondary education in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He finished in 1986 and gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, General Musa has held several critical appointments in the Nigerian Army. They include General Staff Officer 1, Training and Operations, Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative and Member, Training Team, Headquarters Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training and Operations, Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3, Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region.
By 2021, he was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, and later became Commander, Nigerian Army Infantry Corps, before President Tinubu appointed him Chief of Defence Staff in 2023.
In his correspondence to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed strong confidence in General Musa’s capacity to steer the Defence Ministry and reinforce the country’s security framework.
The nomination was announced in a statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday.
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