Tinubu nominates ex-CDS, Gen. Christopher Musa, as new minister of defence
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.
The nomination was conveyed in a letter sent to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Monday, according to a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
General Musa is to replace Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned from the position earlier in the week.
Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, previously served as Chief of Defence Staff between 2023 and October 2025. The celebrated military officer received the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, he completed his primary and secondary education in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He graduated in 1986 and gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor’s degree in 1991.
Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, Musa has served in several strategic roles in the Nigerian Army. His past appointments include General Staff Officer 1 (Training/Operations) at Headquarters 81 Division, Commanding Officer of the 73 Battalion, and Assistant Director for Operational Requirements in the Department of Army Policy and Plans.
He also served as Infantry Representative/Member of the Training Team at the Headquarters of the Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he held key operational postings, including Deputy Chief of Staff (Training/Operations) at the Infantry Corps Headquarters; Commander, Sector 3 of Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3 of the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region.
Two years later, in 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed him Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai. He later led the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before President Tinubu named him Chief of Defence Staff in 2023.
President Tinubu, in his letter to the Senate, expressed confidence in General Musa’s capacity to strengthen the country’s defence systems and advance ongoing security reforms.
