The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) has inaugurated a Presidential Committee to develop a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan for Nigeria.

The committee, constituted by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has been given 90 days to complete and submit the two strategic documents for presidential consideration and approval.

Inaugurating the committee on Wednesday, the SGF charged members to approach the assignment with professionalism, objectivity, urgency and patriotism, stressing the need for a coordinated response to Nigeria’s increasingly complex security challenges.

He said the initiative was designed to strengthen the country’s capacity to anticipate emerging threats, establish priorities, allocate security resources efficiently and translate national security objectives into measurable outcomes.

According to him, contemporary security threats are increasingly interconnected and adaptive, often exploiting gaps between institutions, jurisdictions and operational theatres.

While acknowledging recent successes recorded by the Armed Forces and other security agencies, the SGF said the government must move beyond reacting to individual security incidents and develop a strategic system capable of anticipating threats and sustaining long-term operational effectiveness.

He said the National Threat Assessment would provide a common basis for planning by the Armed Forces, intelligence services and other relevant security agencies.

The assessment is expected to identify Nigeria’s principal existing and emerging threats, determine their strategic implications, assess how they may evolve and recommend appropriate responses.

The five-year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, meanwhile, will translate the threat assessment into practical operational priorities, including requirements for personnel, equipment, intelligence, infrastructure, logistics, technology and other capabilities.

The SGF said the plan would also identify capability gaps, establish procurement priorities and provide realistic timelines for implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

He explained that the five-year framework would support long-term force development, training, infrastructure, maintenance, research and development, as well as the strengthening of Nigeria’s defence industrial base.

The plan will be reviewed annually to accommodate emerging threats, changing operational realities, technological developments and lessons from ongoing military operations.

The SGF emphasised that procurement and resource allocation should be driven by assessed national security threats and operational requirements rather than institutional preferences.

“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,” he said.

Committee Membership

The committee comprises senior officials from the defence, intelligence and security sectors.

Members include National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa (rtd.); Minister of State for Defence, Bello Muhammad Matawalle; and Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede.

Others are Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; and Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Disu.

The Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi, and Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Muhammed Mohammed, are also members.

The committee will be coordinated and supported by the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (rtd.).

Famadewa thanked President Tinubu for the confidence placed in the committee members and urged them to treat the assignment as a collective national responsibility.

He stressed that his role would be to facilitate collaboration and harness the expertise of members rather than command the committee.

He also disclosed that subcommittees would be established to focus on specialised areas and ensure the assignment is completed within the 90-day deadline.

The SGF assured the committee of the full support and cooperation of his office, while urging members to develop a strategic framework capable of strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture and improving the country’s ability to respond to both current and emerging threats.