TheCable

Muhammad Abdallah, a retired army colonel, has been appointed as chairman of the National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

This was confirmed in a statement issued by Bolaji Adebiyi, director of press in the office of secretary to the government of the federation.

According to the statement, the appointment, which takes effect from January 11, will be for a first tenure of five years.

Abdallah replaces Roli Bode-George, who stepped in as the acting head of the agency in November following the expiration of the tenure of Ahmadu Giade.

Giade, a retired police officer, led the NDLEA for 10 years.

Born on November 13, 1954, Abdallah hails from Hong in Adamawa state.

He has a certificate of education from the Nigeria Defence Academy, a bachelor’s degree in American Politics and Government from Sam Houston State University, Huntville, Texas, USA;  an M. A. Public Administration; and LLB and LLM Degrees from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.

He also obtained bachelor’s of law from the Nigeria Law School.

Abdallah is a professional security officer whose public service career spanned over 30 years during which he served in various capacities and strategic positions in the military.

NDLEA, established in 1990, is a federal agency charged with eliminating the growing, processing, manufacturing, selling, exporting and trafficking of hard drugs.