President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday, July 13, effected a shakeup in the leadership of the Nigerian armed forces, which saw the former service chiefs of the Navy, Air force, and Army removed.
The shakeup in the hierarchy of the Nigerian Armed forces has being widely reported in several Nigerian dailies as stated below
The Nation: Big Questions As Buhari Sacks Service Chiefs, NSA
This Day: Buhari Names Monguno NSA, Replaces Service Chiefs
The Guardian: Buhari Names New NSA, Service Chiefs
The Punch: Mixed Reactions As President Names New Service Chiefs, NSA
Vanguard: I Chose New Service Chiefs On Merit – Buhari
According to The Punch, President Buhari in a statement yesterday, through his special adviser on media and publicity, Femi Adesina, said the appointment of the new service chiefs was geared towards crushing the Boko Haram insurgency.
The Punch citing the president’s statement gave the list of the new service chiefs as: chief of defence staff; Maj Gen Abayomi Gabriel Olonishakin; chief of Army staff; Maj Gen TY Buratai; chief of Naval staff; Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas; chief of air staff; Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar; and Chief of defence intelligence; Air Vice Marshal Monday Riku Morgan.
READ ALSO: Reasons Behind Replacing Nigerian Services Chiefs
The outgoing service chiefs are: former chiefs of defence staff; Air Chief Marshal Alex Obadeh; former chief of army staff; Lt Gen Kenneth Minimaah; former chief of Naval staff; Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin; and former chief of Air staff; Air Marshal Adesola Amosu.
The sacked service chiefs were appointed by the former administration of Goodluck Jonathan in January 2014.
The president also replaced former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col Sambo Dasuki (retd) with Maj Gen Babagana Monguno (retd).
President Buhari according to Vanguards, noted that the new service chiefs were appointed based on their sterling records. He urged them to show dedication to the their new task and revamp the lost glory of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
“All Of you, including the National Security Adviser, were chosen on merit. Your records gave you the job. Save for the new chief of Army staff whom I briefly met at his command at the multinational Joint task force in Chad, I don’t know any of you. Your records recommended you.” Buhari said in his address to the new appointees.
READ ALSO: 10 Facts About Chief of Army Staff General Buratai
The Nation report that the sacking of the security chiefs has elicited questions from the public who query if President Buhari will probe the billions of Naira spent on defence by the past administration?
If he will probe why the Nigerian army which performed excellently on international duties had suddenly become weakened by the Boko Haram insurgency?
If the current shakeup will affect the rank and file the Armed forces? And if the trial of soldiers accused of erring in the war against Boko Haram will continue after the soldiers complained that they were ill equipped to fight Boko Haram?
Reactions
According to The Guardian, reaction have continued to trail the sack of the former service chiefs. The National Chairman of the Labour Party, Abdulsalam Abdulkadir described that move by the president as hasty, noting that Buhari should have first studied the security situation before taking such decision.
Abdulkadir argued that the outgoing service chiefs could not be blamed for the surge in Boko Haram insurgency.
Some politicians from the South East faulted the new appointments on the ground that the region was not duly represented in the list of appointees.
Others on the other side of the divide however welcomed the sacking of the service chiefs as a good development.
Lagos lawyer and human rights activist, Femi Falana, praised Buhari for effecting the shake up in the Military hierarchy, saying the former service chiefs abandoned professionalism for politics .
Meanwhile, the appointment of the new service chiefs, according to This Day was greeted by another bomb blast in Maiduguri, the Borno state capita, after a suicide bomber detonated the explosives strapped to his body as he was about to be searched by some members of a vigilante group.
In a related development, the Borno state police spokesman, Adeyemi Opadokun, confirmed that Boko Haram launched fresh attacks in some villages in Mungono Local Government Area of the state killing 43 people.
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