PHOTO: Buhari appoints new CDS, Military Service Chiefs

The President yesterday sacked all the service chiefs and Chief of Defence Staff he inherited from the Jonathan  administration. Only the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, who was appointed by former Presdient Goodluck Jonathan appointed in May this year, survived.
Sacked were the Chief of Defence Staff, (CDS), Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh, Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Usman Jibrin, Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Adesola Amosu and National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd).
President Buhari thanked them, for their services to the nation and wished them well in their future endeavours.
In a statement, the Special Adviser  on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said the President  approved the appointments of Major-General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin as the.....
new CDS Major-General Tukur Y. Buratai is Chief of Army Staff,  Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Iba’s Chief of Naval Staff,  and Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar as Chief of Air Staff.
The President has also appointed  Air Vice Marshal Morgan Monday Riku as Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major-General Babagana Monguno (rtd.) as NSA.
Gen. Monguno who hails from Borno State, was a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s 21st Regular Course. Before his retirement from the Army, he held several command and staff appointments including Commander, Guards Brigade, Deputy Commandant, National Defence College, Chief of Defence Intelligence, Chief of Defence Logistics and Commander, Training and Doctrine Command.
Gen. Olonisakin hails from Ekiti State. Until his new appointment, he was the Head of the Nigerian Army Training and Doctrine Command in Minna, Niger State.
Gen. Buratai hails from Borno State and was until his appointment, the Commander of the Multinational Joint Task Force which has its headquarters in Ndjamena,
Buratai has only spent one month in his post as Force Commander of Joint Task Force after the reorganization of the MNJTF in line with the decision of member-countries of the Lake Chard Basin Commission (LCBC) which include Nigeria, Chad, Niger and Cameroon, with Benin Republic as hononorary member before his new appointment.
He has previously served as Commander of the Nigerian Army’s 2nd Brigade in Port Harcourt and Commander, Army School of Infantry in Jaji, Kaduna State.
Ibas hails from Cross River State. He enlisted into the Nigerian Defence Academy NDA, as a member of the 26th Regular Course in 1979 and was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant in 1983.
His previous appointments include Naval Provost Marshall, Chief Staff Officer, Naval Training Command, Chief of Administration, Naval Headquarters, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC),Western Naval Command and Chief of Logistics, Naval Headquarters.
Adesina said the new ‎ service chiefs will hold their appointments in an acting capacity until they are confirmed by the Senate.
Meanwhile, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has commended President Buhari for, at last, appointing new service chiefs, but regretted that the list does not represent federal character principle as no Igbo officer made the list.
In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday and signed by its National Chairman,  Dr. Victor Ike Oye, the party urged Buhari to balance the appointment by naming an Igbo to occupy one of the sensitive military positions to avoid creating the impression of further marginalisation.
It wondered why the President failed to appreciate the sensitive nature of the matter,  thereby allowing the slip to occur, which it considered precarious and antithetical to national unity and development.
APGA expressed satisfaction, nonetheless, with the calibre of the officers appointed and urged them not to allow clannishness or sectarianism becloud their sense of reasoning and consideration.

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