President Bola Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, as the new minister of defence, following the resignation of Mohammed Badaru Abubakar on Monday.
In a letter transmitted to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, the President formally presented Musa as his choice to lead the defence ministry.
The letter was read on the floor of the Senate yesterday.
A statement issued on Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the President on information and strategy, said President Tinubu expressed confidence in the capacity of the retired military chief to provide renewed leadership at a time the administration has declared a national security emergency.
According to the statement, the 58 year old former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) who served from 2023 until October 2025, had earlier won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa completed his primary and secondary education in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria.
He enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in 1986 and graduated in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree.
He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant the same year and subsequently embarked on a career that spanned key operational and command postings.
His previous appointments include General Staff Officer One, Training and Operations at Headquarters Eighty One Division, Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion, Assistant Director Operational Requirements in the Department of Army Policy and Plans, and Infantry Representative in the Training Team of the Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff for Training and Operations at the Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps. He also held the position of Commander Sector Three in Operation Lafiya Dole and later led the Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region. In 2021, he assumed duty as Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, before becoming Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps.
His fresh nomination comes less than twenty 24 hours after he held a private meeting with President Tinubu at the State House on Monday evening.
