By Tosin Olatokunbo
President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed a former military administrator of Lagos state, Buba Marwa as the new chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA. The appointment came barely a week after the president failed to re-appoint the former chairman, Col. Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah (rtd).
Until this appointment, Mohamed Buba Marwa was the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Drug Abuse. The former military administrator, MILAD is now effectively the boss of the agency.
His predecessor was appointed on January 12, 2016 by the former Secretary to Government of the Federation (SGF), Engr. Babachair Lawal, but had recently came under public scrutiny for mismanaging the agency, particularly, his decision to hurriedly recruit 5000 fresh staff when his term had already ended. He was sacked despite his intense lobby to retain his job for another four years.
Marwa was born on September 9, 1953, a retired Nigerian army officer who served as governor of Borno State, and then Lagos State during the military administrations of Generals Ibrahim Babangida and Sani Abacha.
He was commissioned as 2nd lieutenant in the Nigerian Army Reconnaissance Corps before moving to the Armoured Corp. He held various posts in the army, including Brigade Major (23 Armoured Brigade), Aide-de-Camp (ADC) to Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Theophilus Danjuma, academic registrar of the Nigerian Defense Academy and deputy defense adviser in the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC.
In 1990, he was appointed Governor of Borno State. In 1992, he became the defense adviser to the Nigerian Permanent Mission to the United Nations.
The NDLEA boss’ step son recently married President Buhari’s daughter .
Meanwhile, close watchers of the para-military organization insist that the two-time MILAD will bring forth, to his new job, his experience as a military technocrat and seasoned administrator.
