President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa, as the new Minister of Defence.
The announcement was made on Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy.
In a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, President Tinubu submitted General Musa’s nomination to succeed Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who stepped down on Monday.
Musa, 58, is a highly accomplished military officer who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 to October 2025 and was awarded the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, General Musa completed his primary and secondary education in the state before attending the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria. He graduated in 1986 and joined the Nigerian Defence Academy that same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991.
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Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, Musa has held numerous key roles, including General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at HQ 81 Division; Commanding Officer of the 73 Battalion; Assistant Director of Operational Requirements at the Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative/Member of the Training Team at HQ Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations at Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander of Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander of Sector 3 Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region.
By 2021, General Musa was appointed Theatre Commander of Operation Hadin Kai and later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before his appointment as Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023.