The rapid promotion of Colonel Nurudeen Yusuf, President Bola Tinubu’s aide-de-camp [ADC] to Brigadier General has reportedly been reversed, according to sources cited by TheCable.
Yusuf, who was only decorated as a colonel last January was again promoted to the rank of brigadier-general through “special presidential promotion.”
Under the normal process, an officer has to be a colonel for at least four years, after which he or she will attend the National Defence College (NDC) before being considered for promotion.
The approval to bypass the process was conveyed in a letter from the office of the national security adviser (NSA) to the Chief of Army Staff.
The leaked letter was dated December 12, 2025, and was signed by Nuhu Ribadu, the NSA.
In the letter, Ribadu said Yusuf will be retained as the president’s ADC despite the promotion. No brigadier has ever been ADC to the president of Nigeria, leading to further disquiet within the military establishment.
Ahead of the planned decoration on Monday, the minister of defence, Chris Musa — who is a retired general — and the chief of army staff, Waidi Shaibu, a lieutenant general, had cut short their visit to Lagos state and returned to the federal capital.
According to the newspaper, two highly respected former army chiefs eventually succeeded in persuading Tinubu to shelve the plan because of the dangers to the military establishment. As a result of the intervention, the promotion is said to have been canceled.
There had been complaints by military experts that this was going to be a “bad precedent”.
The newspaper reported that Yusuf had been previously accused of wielding undue influence in the promotion and retention of military officers because of his closeness to the president.
“He got the president to sign a memo for the promotion of officers who were due for retirement after failing three times as specified by their rules. When the president was told of the implications regarding the rule, he withdrew the memo but nonetheless asked that the officers be allowed to remain in service, citing the emergency he just declared. They are still in service, I understand,” TheCable quoted a military source.
In January 2025, Tinubu decorated Yusuf with the rank of colonel.
In April 2023, Yusuf, who was then a lieutenant colonel, was appointed as the ADC to Tinubu — a month to the inauguration of Tinubu as president.
Yusuf was crowned as the monarch of Ilemona land in Oyun LGA of Kwara state in July 2024.
However, he is expected to fully assume the traditional role when he retires from the military. [TheNiche citing TheNiche]
Stay ahead with the latest updates! Join The ConclaveNG on WhatsApp and Telegram for real-time news alerts, breaking stories, and exclusive content delivered straight to your phone. Don’t miss a headline — subscribe now!
