The President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has reinstated Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term.
According to the statement released by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Friday, President Tinubu applauded Marwa’s efforts.
“Your reappointment is a vote of confidence in your onerous efforts to rid our country of the menace of drug trafficking and drug abuse.
“I urge you not to relent in tracking the merchants of hard drugs, out to destroy our people, especially the young ones.” He said.
The Adamwa-born military officer was initially appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021. Before that, he served as the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020.
Marwa is expected to lead NDLEA until 2031, following the extension of his appointment.
The NDLEA chairman, who formerly served as a military governor of Lagos and Borno States, is a graduate of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973 and has held several significant military positions, including brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of Army Staff, and academic registrar at the NDA.
He also represented Nigeria internationally, serving as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, and later as Defence Adviser to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission at the United Nations.
Marwa earned two postgraduate degrees: a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh (1983–1985) and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University (1985–1986).
While serving as the leader of NDLEA, he has supervised numerous major operations, resulting in the arrest of more than 73,000 drug traffickers and the seizure of over 15 million kilograms of various illicit drugs. He has also led nationwide campaigns aimed at curtailing drug abuse.
