President Bola Tinubu has approved the promotion of his Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Nurudeen Yusuf, to the rank of brigadier-general, a development that has generated criticism and unease within sections of the Nigerian Army.
The approval was conveyed in a letter dated December 12, 2025, addressed to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant-General Wahid Shaibu, and transmitted by the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu.
The promotion has attracted attention because Yusuf was only decorated as a colonel in January 2025, making the latest elevation his second promotion within a 12-month period. This unusually rapid progression has reportedly sparked discontent among some serving officers, including coursemates of the ADC, who described the development as unprecedented.
A senior military officer, who spoke anonymously, expressed concern over the speed of the promotion, questioning the rationale behind advancing an officer twice in one year.
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Neither the Presidency nor the Nigerian Army has issued an official statement explaining the accelerated promotion. However, a source within the Presidency said the decision was taken to align Yusuf’s rank with those of other senior security officials attached to the Presidential Villa.
According to the source, the Nigeria Police Force recently promoted the President’s Chief Personal Security Officer, Usman Shugaba, from Deputy Commissioner of Police to Commissioner of Police, while the State Security Service elevated the President’s Chief Security Officer, Adegboyega Fasasi, to the rank of Director. These positions, the source noted, are considered equivalent to the rank of brigadier-general in the Nigerian Army.
The source explained that without a corresponding promotion, Yusuf would have remained junior in rank to his counterparts within the presidential security architecture, a situation that could affect esprit de corps and operational harmony.
Yusuf was appointed ADC to President Tinubu on May 1, 2023, about four weeks before the President’s inauguration. He held the rank of lieutenant-colonel at the time of his appointment.
(Premium Times)