Tinubu reappoints Marwa as NDLEA chairman

President Bola Tinubu has approved the reappointment of retired Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa, as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term, the presidency announced on Friday.

The confirmation is contained in a statement issued by Presidential Spokesperson, Mr Bayo Onanuga in Abuja.

Marwa, first appointed in January 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari, will now serve until 2031.

A former military governor of Lagos and Borno States, Marwa previously chaired the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020, before his elevation to the NDLEA leadership role.

Marwa is an alumnus of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy.

Commissioned in 1973, he served in key military and diplomatic roles, including Brigade Major and Aide-de-Camp to Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma.

He also served as Academic Registrar of the NDA, Deputy Defence Adviser at the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, and Defence Adviser to Nigeria’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, showcasing a diverse career in public service.

Marwa holds a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and a Master of Public Administration from Harvard University, reflecting his extensive academic and professional training in governance and leadership.

Under his leadership, the NDLEA has achieved major successes, including arresting more than 73,000 drug offenders and seizing more than 15 million kilogrammes of assorted hard drugs across the country.

The agency has also intensified nationwide campaigns against drug abuse, raising public awareness and strengthening enforcement to reduce the availability of illicit substances among Nigerians.

President Tinubu described Marwa’s reappointment as a vote of confidence in his “onerous efforts” to combat drug trafficking and abuse, urging him to continue tracking the merchants of hard drugs targeting Nigerians.

“I urge you not to relent in tracking the merchants of hard drugs out to destroy our people, especially the young ones,” the president said, reaffirming his support for Marwa’s leadership at NDLEA.
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