(JUST IN) NDLEA: Tinubu takes major decision on Marwa

In a significant development, President Bola Tinubu on Friday took a major decision on the leadership of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

A statement signed by Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu decided to retain the service of Marwa as the chairman of the anti-narcotic agency for another five years.

The statement reads : “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has renewed the appointment of Brigadier-General Mohammed Buba Marwa (rtd) as the Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for another five-year term.

“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.

“The reappointment means the Adamawa-born former military officer will remain at the helm of the NDLEA until 2031.

PlatinumPost reports that 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 second 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. 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.

According to the statement, the former Lagos military administrator 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.

“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,”  the statement quoted Tinubu  to have said