President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Musa (retd.), as Nigeria’s new Minister of Defence.

The nomination was conveyed in a letter to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday, following the resignation of former minister Alhaji Mohammed Badaru on Monday due to health reasons.

In the letter, President Tinubu expressed confidence in Musa’s ability to strengthen Nigeria’s defence architecture and lead ongoing security reforms.

The development was confirmed in a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

According to the statement, “General Musa, who turns 58 on December 25, is a distinguished military officer who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 to October 2025. He received the prestigious Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.”

Born in Sokoto in 1967, Musa completed his primary and secondary education in the state before attending the College of Advanced Studies, Zaria. He graduated in 1986 and proceeded to the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991.

Commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1991, Musa has held several key military positions, including:

• General Staff Officer 1, Training and Operations, HQ 81 Division
• Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion
• Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans
• Infantry Representative, Training Team, HQ Nigerian Army Armour Corps

In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training and Operations, Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3, Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Basin.

He later became Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, in 2021, before his appointment as Commander, Nigerian Army Infantry Corps. In 2023, President Tinubu appointed him Chief of Defence Staff, a position he held until October 2025.

General Musa’s nomination is expected to be considered by the Senate in the coming days.