Tinubu Reappoints Buba Marwa As NDLEA Chairman

President Bola Tinubu has approved the renewal of Brigadier-General (rtd) Mohammed Buba Marwa’s appointment as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), extending his tenure for another five years and keeping him in office until 2031.

Marwa, an indigene of Adamawa State, was initially appointed as NDLEA Chairman in January 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari. Prior to that role, he served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 until December 2020.

His renewed appointment was confirmed in a statement issued on November 14, 2025, by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.

Tinubu commended Marwa’s dedication, stating, “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.”

A former military governor of both Lagos and Borno states, Marwa is a graduate of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). 

Commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973, he went on to serve in several key military roles, including Brigade Major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma, and Academic Registrar of the NDA.

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

He holds two advanced 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 major milestones, including the arrest of 73,000 drug mules and barons and the seizure of over 15 million kilograms of illicit drugs, alongside the rollout of nationwide campaigns aimed at curbing drug abuse.