President Bola Tinubu has approved the reappointment of Buba Marwa (rtd), Brigadier-General, as Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), extending his tenure for another five years.
The announcement was made on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
Marwa, who first assumed the role in January 2021 under former President Muhammadu Buhari, will now lead the agency until 2031. Before his appointment to the NDLEA, he served as Chairman of the Presidential Advisory Committee for the Elimination of Drug Abuse from 2018 to 2020.
The Adamawa-born retired military officer previously served as military governor of Lagos and Borno States. A graduate of the Nigerian Military School and the Nigerian Defence Academy, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1973. His military career included roles as brigade major of the 23 Armoured Brigade, Aide-de-Camp to then Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, and academic registrar of the NDA. He also served in diplomatic military positions in Washington, DC, and at the United Nations.
Marwa holds postgraduate degrees in Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh and in Public Administration from Harvard University.
His leadership at the NDLEA has been marked by major drug interdiction operations. Since 2021, the agency reports arresting more than 73,000 suspected drug traffickers and seizing over 15 million kilograms of illicit substances. The NDLEA has also intensified national campaigns targeting drug abuse.
President Tinubu praised Marwa’s performance, describing the renewal of his tenure as a “vote of confidence” and urging him to sustain efforts to combat drug trafficking and protect young Nigerians.
