President Bola Tinubu, has sworn in the former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtd) as Minister of Defence.
General Musa, according to a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information & Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, was sworn in on Thursday, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
TheFact Daily reports that General Musa was appointed following the resignation of Alhaji Mohammed Badaru Abubakar as the Minister of Defence on Monday, December 1, 2025.
Musa’s nomination was transmitted to the Senate, where it received expedited screening and confirmation on Wednesday.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, General Musa was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant into the Nigerian Army in 1991 and had a distinguished military career. He was appointed Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023 and retired in October 2025.
As Chief of Defence Staff, he championed inter-service security collaboration.
With his swearing-in, the new Defence Minister is expected to immediately assume duties as the Tinubu administration seeks to consolidate recent security gains and fast-track reforms aimed at achieving lasting peace and stability nationwide.
The statement disclosed that the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele, Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Sen. Adeniyi Adegbonmire, the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris, and the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, attended the swearing-in ceremony.
Also in attendance, according to the statement, were the spouse of the new Minister, Mrs Lilian Oghogho Musa; Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Sokoto, Matthew Hassan Kukah; and Justice Kumai Bayang Akaahs (rtd).
