The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume has inaugurated a Presidential Committee on National Threat Assessment and a Five Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, with the committee given 90 days to submit both documents for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s consideration. In a statement signed by……
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) Senator George Akume has inaugurated a Presidential Committee on National Threat Assessment and a Five Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, with the committee given 90 days to submit both documents for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s consideration.
In a statement signed by the Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to the SGF, Yomi Odunuga, on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, the SGF urged members of the committee to approach the assignment “with the highest degree of professionalism, objectivity, urgency and patriotism.”
The committee was established by President Tinubu to prepare a comprehensive National Threat Assessment and a rolling Five Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan for the country.
The SGF said the committee had been entrusted with “an assignment of considerable national importance” and must deliver both documents within 90 days for the President’s consideration and approval.
He said the inauguration represented “an important step in strengthening Nigeria’s capacity to understand, anticipate, plan for and respond effectively to an increasingly complex and evolving security environment.”
According to him, contemporary security threats had become increasingly interconnected and adaptive, with the capacity to exploit gaps between institutions, jurisdictions and operational theatres.
While acknowledging the successes recorded by the Armed Forces and other security agencies across different theatres in recent months, the SGF said the government must move beyond responding to individual security challenges.
He said Nigeria needed a system capable of “anticipating threats, setting priorities, allocating resources rationally and sustaining operational momentum,” while ensuring that national security objectives were translated into measurable outcomes.
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The SGF noted that although heads of defence, intelligence and security agencies must retain the flexibility to respond to immediate threats, their actions should be anchored on “a shared national understanding of the security environment and a coherent short, medium and long term strategy.”
He said the committee was expected to establish a strategic system where Nigeria’s assessment of threats would determine operational objectives, while those objectives would determine the capabilities required.
“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.
The SGF explained that the committee would produce two key documents, namely the National Threat Assessment and the Five Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan.
He said the National Threat Assessment would provide the government with “a comprehensive and objective understanding of Nigeria’s security landscape,” identifying the threats facing the country, their implications, how they could evolve and the appropriate government response.
The Five Year Strategic Defence Operations Plan, he added, would translate the assessment into practical and prioritised operational requirements, including the forces, equipment, infrastructure, logistics, intelligence and technology needed across different theatres.
The plan would also identify capability gaps and establish priorities based on the severity and urgency of identified threats, while providing realistic timelines and mechanisms for measuring progress.
The SGF said the five year framework would support force development, capability acquisition, infrastructure development, training, maintenance, research and development, as well as the strengthening of Nigeria’s defence industrial base.
He added that the plan would operate on a rolling basis and be reviewed annually to accommodate emerging threats, changing operational realities, technological developments and lessons from ongoing operations.
Under its terms of reference, the committee is mandated to review existing and emerging security threats, assess their urgency and strategic implications, define operational priorities and identify capability requirements in each theatre.
It will also determine procurement priorities based on assessed threats and operational requirements rather than institutional preferences, while establishing implementation steps, timelines and measures for monitoring outcomes.
The SGF said Nigeria’s military and security personnel deserved a strategic framework that clearly defined their objectives and provided the capabilities, resources and support required to accomplish them.
He thereafter formally inaugurated the committee on behalf of President Tinubu and wished members wisdom, diligence and successful deliberations.
The committee will be coordinated and supported by the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security, Major General Adeyinka Famadewa (rtd).
Its members include the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Defence, Christopher Musa; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Muhammad Matawalle; Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Idi Abbas.
Others are the Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu; Director-General of the Department of State Services, Tosin Ajayi; and Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, Ambassador Muhammed Muhammed.
In his closing remarks, Famadewa expressed appreciation to President Tinubu for the confidence reposed in members of the committee and urged them to work collectively towards strengthening Nigeria’s security architecture.
He said his role would not be to command members but to “facilitate collaboration and harness their collective expertise” towards achieving the objectives set by the President.
Famadewa also disclosed that subcommittees would be established to focus on specialised areas and ensure the committee completes its assignment within the stipulated 90-day timeframe.
