President, Bola Tinubu has written the Senate, seeking the screening and subsequent confirmation of the new Chief of Defence Staff and Service Chiefs.
By Emma Ogbuehi
In line with the prescriptions of the constitution, the President, Bola Tinubu has written the Senate, seeking the screening and subsequent confirmation of the new Chief of Defence Staff and service chiefs.
The request was contained in a letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio.
Akpabio who read the letter on Tuesday during Plenary, said that the request was in line with the Act establishing the Armed Forces.
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Tinubu urged the Red Chamber to consider his request expeditiously.
Akpabio, after reading the letter, referred the request to the Committee of the Whole as there was no Standing Committee on Armed Forces, indicating that the Service Chiefs would be screened on the floor of the Senate, not at the Committee level.
Recall that the President had, last month, approved the immediate retirement of all Service Chiefs and the Inspector-General of Police, Advisers, Comptroller-General of Customs from Service as well as their replacements with immediate effect.
In their place, he appointed Major General Christopher Musa as the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and Major General Taoreed Lagbaja as the chief of Army Staff.
Tinubu also appointed Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla as the Chief of Naval Staff and Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar as the Chief of Air Staff and Major General Emmanuel Undiandeye appointed the Chief of Defence Intelligence.
DIG Kayode Egbetokun, was appointed Acting Inspector-General of Police.
It was indicated at their appointment that the appointed Service Chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police and the Comptroller General of Customs were to act in their positions, pending their confirmation in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.