The federal government has ordered a short, strict timeline for reshaping Nigeria's defence posture, directing an 11-member team to produce a National Threat Assessment and a rolling five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan within 90 days. The move, announced by Bayo Onanuga, the president's special adviser on Information and Strategy, tasks Adeyinka Famadewa with coordinating the committee and providing secretariat support. President Bola Tinubu issued the directive at the Federal Executive Council meeting at the State House, Abuja, citing the need for a coherent framework to respond to evolving threats.
The committee brings senior security figures into a single planning process. Members named include Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser; Christopher Musa, the Minister of Defence; Bello Matawalle, Minister of State for Defence; the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Waidi Shaibu; the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas. The director-general of the Department of State Service, Tosin Ajayi, and the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Muhammed Muhammed, are also on the panel.
Tinubu framed the exercise as a response to fragmented planning and uneven use of intelligence, saying operational requirements have often been considered in isolation without a unified medium-term plan. He pointed to recent operational successes, including the rescue of pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, as evidence of the benefits of coordinated action. "The operation demonstrated what can be achieved when our agencies work together with a clear objective and the necessary intelligence," the president said.
The National Threat Assessment is mandated to identify principal threats, rank them by urgency and set operational objectives. The Strategic Defence Operations Plan will translate that assessment into priorities for forces and capabilities in each theatre, map existing gaps, and list equipment and support needs alongside an implementation timetable. The committee may consult or co-opt representatives from other ministries, departments and agencies where required.
Under the directive, the completed assessment and plan will be submitted to the president for approval within 90 days and, once approved, will serve as the principal framework for coordinating military and defence operations over the medium term. The president also instructed that the plan form the basis for preparing a corresponding multi-year defence expenditure and procurement plan, aligning resources to agreed operational priorities and critical national security requirements. The Secretary to the Government of the Federation and the Office of the National Security Adviser were ordered to take all necessary steps to give the directives immediate effect.
