Senate has approved Christopher Musa, the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, as Nigeria’s new defence minister.
Gatekeepers News reports that his nomination was confirmed on Wednesday after senators reviewed his military record and questioned him on critical security issues.
Musa pledged to serve Nigeria diligently, emphasising a collaborative approach. He said, “I believe that the challenges we are facing is a Nigerian challenge, not only for the armed forces or security forces, but for everyone working together.”
“I want to assure you, we will win working together as a team. Even when I was CDS, I tried to harmonise all the teams and service chiefs. There are a lot of gaps and constitutional lacuna that are affecting operations. We will follow up to make sure everyone is on board.”
The Defence Chief advocated for a unified national database to aid security agencies and called on local and sub-national governments, as well as the legal system, to play active roles in combating insecurity.
Musa also insisted on ending ransom payments to kidnappers, bandits, and terrorists. He said, “There should be no negotiation with criminals. If you negotiate with them, they will never abide by it. They use the money to buy more arms.”
On recruitment into the armed forces, Musa promised stricter procedures. Regarding claims of Christian genocide, he said all Nigerians are victims of terrorism.
He said, “We are all victims; everybody is being killed. We must stop the killings. Nigerians should not be killed. We must unite. These are evil people who are on drugs, they kill everyone, they don’t know who is who.”
Senate President Godswill Akpabio praised Musa for thoroughly answering all questions, saying, “I have not seen any nominee who have answered all questions since 1999. We want to urge you to visit the defence industries as soon as you take over.”
Following the screening, Musa’s nomination was put to a voice vote and unanimously approved.
