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), extending his tenure for another five years.
The announcement was made on Friday through a statement by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
In the statement, Tinubu applauded Marwa’s impactful leadership, noting, “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 was first appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in January 2021, after serving as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse between 2018 and 2020.
His renewed mandate means the Adamawa-born retired General will continue to head the NDLEA until 2031.
A seasoned military officer, Marwa is a graduate of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy, commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973. He held various strategic positions during his career, including brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to the Chief of Army Staff, and academic registrar of the NDA.
He also represented Nigeria as Deputy Defence Adviser at the Embassy in Washington, D.C., and later served as Defence Adviser to the Nigerian Permanent Mission at the United Nations.
Marwa earned 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, he has driven major anti-drug operations resulting in the arrest of more than 73,000 suspects and the confiscation of over 15 million kilograms of illicit drugs, alongside nationwide advocacy against drug abuse.