Tinubu Asks Senate to Confirm Newly Appointed Service Chiefs

President Bola Tinubu has asked the Senate to confirm the appointments of the newly named service chiefs as part of ongoing efforts to strengthen the nation’s security framework.

The president’s request, which covers the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Waheedi Shaibu; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Adm. Idi Abbas; Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Kennedy Aneke; and Chief of Defence Intelligence, Maj.-Gen. Emmanuel Undiendeye, was announced Tuesday by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary.

In the correspondence, Tinubu urged the Senate to give the nominations expeditious consideration. The upper chamber referred the request to the Committee of the Whole for screening and confirmation next week.

The development follows Tinubu’s recent shake-up of the military hierarchy in which Gen. Christopher Musa was replaced by Oluyede, a former Chief of Army Staff, as Chief of Defence Staff. Undiendeye was retained as Chief of Defence Intelligence.

According to presidential aide Sunday Dare, the shake-up aligns with the Federal Government’s efforts to reinforce national security architecture. “All appointments take immediate effect,” Dare said in a statement.

However, the move has drawn criticism from some quarters. The opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) questioned the rationale behind the reshuffle, urging the president to provide more clarity on the decision.

“The Federal Government owes Nigerians a categorical explanation about what truly happened,” the ADC said in a statement by its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi. “As an opposition political party, our interest remains the stability of our country and our democracy. In light of developments in our neighborhood — Chad and the Sahel States — we are gravely concerned.”