Tinubu re-appoints Marwa as NDLEA chairman

By Our Reporter 

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has renewed the appointment of the Chairman, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd), for another five-year term, to sustain the ongoing fight against substance peddlers across the country. 

Tinubu’s decision was announced by his Special Adviser (SA) on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, through a statement made available to newsmen on Friday. 

President Tinubu stated that the decision to renew Marwa’s appointment was taken after a review f his achievements since assuming office as the chairman of the country’s agency for eradication of drug trafficking. 

He charged him "not to relent in tracking the merchants of hard drugs, out to destroy our people, especially the young ones." 

The reappointment means the Adamawa-born former military officer will remain at the helm of the NDLEA until 2031, completing a two-term in office. 

"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.

Marwa was first appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, after serving as the Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to December 2020. 

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

After his commissioning as a 2nd Lieutenant in 1973, Marwa served as Brigade Major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma, and Academic Registrar of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA). 

He also served as Deputy Defence Adviser in the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, and later as Defence Adviser to the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN). 

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). 

His tenure in the NDLEA has been remarkable for many drug busts, including the arrests of 73,000 drug mules and barons and seizures of over 15 million kilogrammes of various hard drugs. 

Under his leadership, the agency has also launched nationwide campaigns to address drug abuse.