UPDATED: President Tinubu Sacks Chief of Defence Staff, Musa, Others

President Bola Tinubu has made changes in the hierarchy of the Service Chiefs.

This is “in furtherance of the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria to strengthen the national security architecture,” a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, read Friday.

The statement is titled ‘Tinubu changes service chiefs.’

According to Dare, the President appointed General Olufemi Oluyede to replace General Christopher Musa as the new Chief of Defence Staff.

“The new Chief of Army Staff is Major-General W. Shaibu. Air Vice Marshall S.K Aneke is Chief of Air Staff, while Rear Admiral I. Abbas is the new Chief of Naval Staff. Chief of Defence Intelligence Major-General E.A.P Undiendeye retains his position.

“The President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, expresses most profound appreciation to the outgoing Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa and the other Service Chiefs for their patriotic service and dedicated leadership,” the statement further read.

Tinubu charged the newly appointed Service Chiefs to justify the confidence reposed in them by further enhancing the professionalism, vigilance and comradeship that define Nigeria’s Armed Forces.

All appointments take immediate effect.

In a statement by the Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, on Saturday, the military had denied a news report by Sahara Reporters, linking the detention of 16 military officers to a failed coup.

The online newspaper had linked the alleged coup to the cancellation of Nigeria’s 65th Independence Day by the Federal Government.

Dismissing the report in an official statement on Saturday, Gusau condemned the report, saying it was “intended to cause unnecessary tension and distrust among the populace.”

According to him, the October 1 anniversary parade cancellation was “purely administrative.”

He explained that the cancellation was meant to enable the President to attend a bilateral meeting abroad and enable troops to sustain ongoing operations against insurgency and banditry.