President Bola Tinubu has sent a letter to the Senate requesting approval for the recently named Service Chiefs.
This submission encompasses the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Waheedi Shaibu; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas; Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Kennedy Aneke; and Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major-General Emmanuel Undiendeye.
During the plenary meeting on Tuesday, Senate President Godswill Akpabio presented the president’s missive. Within the document, Tinubu called upon the Senate to provide “expeditious consideration” regarding these nominations. Following that, the matter was forwarded to the Committee of the Whole to handle the evaluation and validation of the candidates during the upcoming week.
Just a short time before, President Tinubu had reorganized the upper echelons of the armed forces, ousting General Christopher Musa and installing Oluyede, who previously held the position of Chief of Army Staff, in the role of the new Chief of Defence Staff. Major-General E.A.P. Undiendeye continued in his post as Chief of Defence Intelligence.
As explained by presidential assistant Sunday Dare, this restructuring forms a component of the administration’s initiative aimed at “strengthen the national security architecture.” He further mentioned that every one of these designations “take immediate effect.”
That said, this action has elicited backlash from the rival African Democratic Congress (ADC), a party that pressed the president to clarify the underlying reason for the reorganization. “Our position remains, therefore, that the Federal Government owes Nigerians a categorical explanation about what truly happened,” said Bolaji Abdullahi, the party’s spokesman.
“As an opposition political party, our interest remains the stability of our country and our democracy. In the light of developments in our neighbourhood of Chad and the Sahel States, we are gravely concerned,” the statement added.
A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.
Nnamdi Okoli
