President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has nominated former Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd), as the new Minister of Defence.

The nomination was conveyed in a letter sent to Senate President Godswill Akpabio, following the resignation of the immediate past minister, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, on Monday.

Gen. Musa, who will turn 58 on December 25, is a retired senior military officer who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 to October 2025. He is a recipient of the 2012 Colin Powell Award for Soldiering.

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

Over the course of his career, Musa held several key positions, including General Staff Officer 1, Training and Operations, HQ 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative with the Nigerian Army Armour Corps training team.

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

He was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai, in 2021 and subsequently became Commander of the Infantry Corps. President Tinubu later appointed him Chief of Defence Staff in 2023.

In his letter to the Senate, President Tinubu expressed confidence in Gen. Musa’s capacity to strengthen the country’s defence establishment and contribute to ongoing security reforms.

The nomination letter was signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, and dated December 2, 2025.