NDLEA: Tinubu reappoints Buba Marwa as drug agency Chairman

President Bola Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term, the State House confirmed on Friday.

Marwa, who was initially appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, will now continue to lead the agency until 2031.

Before his current role, Marwa served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 until December 2020, contributing significantly to national efforts against drug abuse.

The announcement was confirmed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, in a press statement dated November 14, 2025.

According to the statement, Marwa brings decades of experience to the role.

A graduate of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy, Marwa was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973 and went on to serve as “brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma, and academic registrar of the Nigerian Defence Academy.”

He also served abroad 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.”

Marwa is highly educated, holding 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 recorded remarkable achievements.

The State House release highlighted “many drug busts, including the arrests of 73,000 drug mules and barons and seizures of over 15 million kilogrammes of various hard drugs.”

The agency has also spearheaded nationwide campaigns to tackle drug abuse.

Tinubu hailed 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, out to destroy our people, especially the young ones.”

Marwa, a former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, now has the responsibility of sustaining these efforts and consolidating the gains of his first tenure.

According to the State House release, the renewed appointment “means the Adamawa-born former military officer will remain at the helm of the NDLEA until 2031.”

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