Tinubu nominates Gen. Musa, immediate past CDS as Defense Minister

By Editor

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated General Christopher Gwabin Musa (Retd), the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) as the new Minister of Defence.

The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy Bayo Onanuga, said this on Tuesday in a statement.

In a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu conveyed General Musa’s nomination as the successor to Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned on Monday, citing health reason.

General Musa, 58 is a distinguished soldier who served as CDS from 2023 until October 2025.

He won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.

Born in Sokoto in 1967, General Musa received his primary and secondary education there before attending the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria.

He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation in 1991.

General Musa was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1991 and has since had a distinguished career.

His appointments include General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at HQ 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative/Member, Training Team, HQ Nigerian Army Armour Corps.

In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/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.

In 2021, General Musa was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai. He later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before being appointed Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023.

In the letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence in General Musa’s ability to lead the Ministry of Defence and further strengthen Nigeria’s security architecture.

TheTimes had earlier reported a private meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Gen. Musa (Retd), hours before the immediate past Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, announced his resignation on Monday.

Gen. Musa, who retired on October 24, 2025, was reportedly led into the President’s office area by a senior security official for the meeting at the Aso Rock Presidential Villa.

Gen. Musa, Nigeria’s 18th Chief of Defence Staff, was appointed in June 2023 and retired in October 2025, handing over to General Olufemi Oluyede.

Originally from Zangon Kataf in Kaduna State, Musa gained national prominence as Theatre Commander of Operation HADIN KAI, where he led counter-insurgency operations against Boko Haram in the North-East.

Musa was awarded the Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) for his service.

His tenure as Defence Chief was marked by strong advocacy for civil-military cooperation, modernization of Nigeria’s defense strategy, and being vocal against corruption, which he described as ‘economic sabotage’.