By Amofokhai Williams
President Bola Tinubu has moved swiftly to fill the vacancy at the helm of the nation’s defence apparatus, nominating the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa, as the new Minister of Defence.
The Alarmee reports that the nomination was conveyed in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
General Musa is proposed as the successor to Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned from the position on Monday.
General Musa, 58, is a decorated officer who served as the Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. His military career is marked by several distinguished honours, including the prestigious Colin Powell Award for Soldiering, which he received in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, the General received his early education in the state before proceeding to the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria.
He entered the Nigerian Defence Academy in 1986 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Nigerian Army in 1991 after earning a Bachelor of Science degree.
His extensive career includes a range of strategic command and staff appointments. He has served as General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at the Headquarters of the 81 Division; Commanding Officer of the 73 Battalion; and Assistant Director of Operational Requirements in the Department of Army Policy and Plans.
In more recent operational roles, General Musa served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations at the Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps in 2019. He later commanded Sector 3 of Operation Lafiya Dole and the Sector 3 Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region.
His appointment as Theatre Commander of the critical Operation Hadin Kai in 2021 placed him at the forefront of the counter-insurgency campaign in the North-East. He subsequently served as Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before his appointment by President Tinubu as the Chief of Defence Staff in 2023.
In his letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed strong confidence in General Musa’s capability to lead the Ministry of Defence and to further strengthen the country’s security architecture.
The nomination now awaits the constitutional process of screening and confirmation by the Senate.
