Tinubu asks senate to confirm new service chiefs

President Bola Tinubu has written to the Senate seeking confirmation of the newly appointed Service Chiefs.

The request includes 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.

Senate President Godswill Akpabio read the president’s letter during Tuesday’s plenary session. In the correspondence, Tinubu urged the Senate to give “expeditious consideration” to the appointments. The request was subsequently referred to the Committee of the Whole for screening and confirmation of the nominees next week.

A few days earlier, President Tinubu had reshuffled the military hierarchy, removing General Christopher Musa and appointing Oluyede, a former Chief of Army Staff, as the new Chief of Defence Staff. Major-General E.A.P. Undiendeye was retained as Chief of Defence Intelligence.

According to presidential aide Sunday Dare, the shake-up was part of the government’s effort to “strengthen the national security architecture.” He added that all appointments “take immediate effect.”

However, the move has drawn criticism from the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), which urged the president to explain the motive behind the reshuffle. “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.