Tinubu Reappoints Buba Marwa as NDLEA Chairman for Another Five-Year Term

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the renewal of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa’s (rtd) appointment as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), extending his tenure for another five years.

Marwa, who first assumed the role in January 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, previously chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020.

According to a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Bayo Onanuga, the reappointment ensures the Adamawa-born retired military officer will remain NDLEA boss until 2031.

A former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, Marwa is a graduate of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy. Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, he has held several key positions, including Brigade Major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, and Registrar of the NDA.

He also served in diplomatic defence roles, including Deputy Defence Adviser at Nigeria’s Embassy in Washington, D.C., and Defence Adviser to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

Marwa holds two postgraduate degrees: a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh (1983–85) and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University (1985–86).

Under his leadership, the NDLEA has achieved significant milestones—arresting more than 73,000 drug traffickers and seizing over 15 million kilogrammes of illicit substances. The agency has also ramped up nationwide anti–drug abuse campaigns.

President Tinubu praised Marwa’s performance, saying:
“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 who are out to destroy our people, especially the young ones.”

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