President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Gwabin Musa, as the new Minister of Defence.
The nomination was contained in a letter addressed to President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and transmitted to the National Assembly on Tuesday.
According to the letter, Gen. Musa is to replace Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned from the Federal Executive Council on Monday.
Musa, 58, served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 to October 2025. He is a recipient of the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering, which he received in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, the nominee had his primary and secondary education in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He gained admission into the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1986, graduating in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science degree.
Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, Musa has held several command and staff positions in the Nigerian Army. These include General Staff Officer 1 (Training/Operations) at Headquarters 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative/Member, Training Team, Headquarters Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff (Training/Operations) at the Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3, Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad region.
Musa was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, in 2021. He later commanded the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before being appointed Chief of Defence Staff in 2023 by President Tinubu.
In the letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence that Musa would provide effective leadership and further strengthen Nigeria’s defence and security architecture.
The President urged the Senate to give the nomination expeditious consideration.
