President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, as the new Minister of Defence.
The nomination was conveyed in a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, following the resignation of the immediate past Defence Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, on Monday.
General Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, is a highly decorated senior military officer and one-time recipient of the prestigious Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012. He served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 to October 2025.
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 later enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1986, obtaining a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991. He was commissioned into the Nigerian Army the same year as a Second Lieutenant.
Over the years, General Musa has held several key command and staff appointments, including General Staff Officer 1, Training and Operations at HQ 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative with the Nigerian Army Armour Corps Training Team.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training and Operations at the Infantry Centre and Corps, Commander of Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole, and later Commander, Sector 3 Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region.
By 2021, he was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, before going on to lead the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps. President Tinubu appointed him Chief of Defence Staff in 2023, a position he held until October this year.
In his letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence in General Musa’s capacity to effectively steer the Ministry of Defence and contribute significantly to strengthening the nation’s security architecture.
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