President Bola Tinubu has approved the promotion of his Aide-de-Camp (ADC), Nurudeen Yusuf, to the rank of brigadier-general, a move that has sparked murmurs and dissatisfaction within the Nigerian Army.
The decision was communicated in a letter dated December 12, 2025, from the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Wahid Shaibu, confirming Yusuf’s elevation.
The promotion has raised concerns among military personnel because Yusuf was only decorated as a colonel in January 2025, making this his second promotion within a single year. Several officers, including some of his peers, have reportedly criticized the advancement as unusually rapid, with accusations of favoritism directed at the President.
“This is hard to believe and defies logic,” a senior officer told PREMIUM TIMES. “He was just promoted to colonel earlier this year.”
Neither the Presidency nor the Nigerian Army has issued an official explanation for the accelerated promotion. However, a Presidency source, speaking anonymously, stated that the elevation was intended to align Yusuf’s rank with those of other senior security officials serving at the Presidential Villa.
The source noted that in August, the Nigeria Police Force promoted the President’s Chief Personal Security Officer, Usman Shugaba, from deputy commissioner to commissioner of police. Similarly, the State Security Services (SSS) recently elevated the President’s Chief Security Officer, Adegboyega Fasasi, to the rank of director. Both police and SSS ranks are considered equivalent to a brigadier-general in the Army.
Without this promotion, Yusuf would have remained junior in rank to his counterparts in the Presidential Villa’s security team, a situation the source said could have undermined cohesion and morale among the officers.
Nurudeen Yusuf was appointed ADC to President Tinubu on May 1, 2023, about four weeks before the President’s inauguration, holding the rank of lieutenant-colonel at the time
