JUST IN: Tinubu Decorates New Service Chiefs
President Bola Tinubu on Thursday decorated the new service chiefs with their respective ranks at the Council Chamber of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The ceremony, which began shortly after 2pm saw the President perform the decoration alongside Vice President Kashim Shettima and the spouses of the decorated officers, each dressed in their respective service uniforms. Those decorated were General Olufemi Oluyede as the Chief of Defence Staff; Lieutenant-General Wahidi Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff; Air Marshal Kennedy Aneke as Chief of Air Staff; and Vice Admiral Idi Abbas and Chief of Naval Staff. The Senate had, on Wednesday, confirmed the four nominees after a two-hour closed-door screening session where they were grilled on strategies to strengthen national security and improve coordination among the armed forces. Tinubu had earlier written the red chamber, seeking an expedited confirmation process “to ensure continuity in the nation’s security leadership.” Our correspondent observed that the ceremony was attended by senior government officials, lawmakers family members of the service chiefs and top officers from the various arms of the military. The President, Vice President and the officers’ spouses took turns pinning the new ranks on each of the decorated chiefs. The decoration came barely one week after the Presidency announced a sweeping reshuffle in the military hierarchy. In the statement signed by the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, it said the shake-up was part of efforts to inject new direction into the nation’s defence architecture. The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major General E. A. P. Undiendeye, retained his position. Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, later told our correspondent that the changes were not connected to recent rumours of a coup plot, saying, “The President acted within his authority as Commander-in-Chief. Service chiefs can be hired and fired by the President.” On Monday, Tinubu had met privately with the new service chiefs at the Villa. They arrived in a black Mercedes-Benz Sprinter van escorted by a green Toyota Land Cruiser, and the session lasted about 40 minutes. Presidency sources said the President charged them to take decisive action against insurgents and bandits, particularly in the North. Last Friday’s reshuffle followed an October 19 report alleging that some officers were plotting to overthrow the government — a claim later dismissed by the Defence Headquarters as “false and mischievous.” The Director of Defence Information, Brigadier-General Tukur Gusau, said the alleged arrests linked to a coup were “issues of indiscipline” within the ranks, describing the report as “intended to cause unnecessary tension and distrust among the populace.”
