Following the appointments of new service chiefs, the Nigerian Armed Forces may lose at least 20 generals, who may be forced to retire.
The officers are of Regiment Courses 34 and 35 who are senior to the new service chiefs.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Tuesday, January 26, appointed the new service chiefs — Chief of Defence Staff, Major-General Lucky Irabor; Chief of Army Staff, Major-General I. Attahiru; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral A.Z Gambo, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air-Vice Marshal Isiaka Amao.
According to Buhari, the outgoing service chiefs — the Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar turned in their notice of retirement.
Among senior officers expected to retire is Lt.-Gen. Lamidi Adeosun, the Chief of Training and Operations, Army headquarters, who wears the same rank with Buratai, the former Army Chief.
Adeosun was promoted in 2019 to the rank by Buhari.
Persecondnews recalls that the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, had in a statement said Buhari had named officers who would head the nation’s armed forces to replace the erstwhile service chiefs.
The President congratulated the new Service Chiefs, and urged them to be loyal and dedicated in the discharge of their responsibilities.
Army Chief, Attahiru is a member of Course 35, Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff, is a member of Course 34.
Sources at the Defence headquarters said two options are available to the authorities
First the service years of some of them might be extended by the new Chief of Army Staff who would probably need their wealth of experience in the ongoing counterinsurgency campaign in the Northeast.
Another option is that some of them might be posted to the Defence headquarters, where they would not be reporting to the Army Chief.
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