President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for a second five-year term.

In a statement released by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy confirming the reappointment, President Tinubu commended Marwa’s achievements

Marwa, first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, previously served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse between 2018 and 2020. His renewed tenure means the Adamawa-born retired military officer will lead the NDLEA until 2031.

A seasoned military administrator, Marwa was a former military governor of Lagos and Borno States. He is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, he served in several key roles, including brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, and academic registrar of the NDA.

Marwa also held diplomatic defence positions as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, D.C., and later as Defence Adviser at Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations.

He holds two postgraduate degrees: a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University.

Since assuming leadership of the NDLEA, Marwa has overseen major crackdowns on drug trafficking. The agency has recorded the arrest of more than 73,000 drug offenders including several high-profile barons and seized over 15 million kilogrammes of illicit substances. His administration has also expanded public sensitisation campaigns against drug abuse nationwide.

“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,” the President said.