Tinubu Gives Security Committee 90 Days To Reset Nigeria’s Defence Strategy

Dr Nafisat Makinde, Abuja

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has given a presidential committee 90 days to produce a national assessment of Nigeria’s security threats and a five year strategic defence operations plan to guide military priorities, procurement and resource allocation.

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator George Akume, inaugurated the committee on Wednesday in Abuja on behalf of Tinubu and charged members to approach the assignment with professionalism, objectivity, urgency and patriotism. The development was contained in a statement signed by Yomi Odunuga, Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the SGF.

Akume said the documents would provide a common framework for the Armed Forces, intelligence services and other security agencies, allowing the government to move beyond responding to individual threats towards anticipating risks, setting priorities, allocating resources and measuring outcomes.

He acknowledged recent successes by the Armed Forces and other security agencies but said operational responses should be anchored on a shared assessment of the security environment and a coherent short, medium and long term strategy. He said capability requirements should guide expenditure, procurement, force development and industrial priorities.

“In simple terms, we must establish a clear path from threat to objective, from objective to capability, from capability to resource, and from resource to measurable outcome,” Akume said.

The National Threat Assessment will examine existing and emerging threats, their urgency, strategic implications and likely development, while distinguishing immediate threats requiring operational action from emerging threats requiring investment in intelligence, technology, infrastructure, doctrine and training.

The five year plan will translate the assessment into operational requirements for each theatre, covering personnel, equipment, logistics, infrastructure, intelligence and technology. It will identify capability gaps, set priorities and establish timelines, responsibilities and measures for tracking progress, while being reviewed annually to reflect changing threats and operational realities.

The committee, coordinated and supported by Major General Adeyinka Famadewa, retired, Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, will also review Nigeria’s principal security threats, define operational priorities and recommend procurement based on assessed needs. Members include NSA Nuhu Ribadu, Defence Minister Christopher Musa, Minister of State for Defence Bello Muhammad Matawalle, Chief of Defence Staff General Olufemi Oluyede and the service chiefs, alongside IGP Olatunji Rilwan Disu, DSS Director General Tosin Ajayi and NIA Director General Ambassador Muhammed Muhammed. Famadewa said subcommittees would be established to handle specialised areas and help meet the 90 day deadline.