President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has renewed the appointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), extending his tenure for another five years.
Presidential spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, announced the development in a statement issued on Thursday, confirming that Marwa will now lead the agency until 2031.
Marwa, a former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, was first appointed NDLEA Chairman by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021. Before that, he served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse between 2018 and December 2020.
A graduate of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy, Marwa was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973. His early career included serving as brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma, and academic registrar of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
He later served as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, and subsequently as 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).
Since assuming leadership of the NDLEA, Marwa has overseen several major operations resulting in the arrests of more than 73,000 drug mules and barons, as well as the seizure of over 15 million kilogrammes of assorted hard drugs. His tenure has also featured nationwide initiatives aimed at curbing drug abuse.
President Tinubu described the reappointment as a reflection of the administration’s confidence in 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,” Tinubu said.
