Barring any unforeseen
circumstances, President Goodluck Jonathan will, any moment from now, overhaul
the service chiefs, even as the chief of defence staff (CDS), Admiral Ola
Ibrahim, has asked for voluntary retirement from the service, LEADERSHIP can
authoritatively report.
Ibrahim, who is from Kwara State, replaced retired Air Chief
Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin. Until his appointment, Ibrahim was the chief of naval
staff (CNS). He was appointed to the office on October 3, 2012, when the
president named Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, from Delta State, as the new CNS.
Until his elevation, Ezeoba was the chief of administration at
the Defence Headquarters. Jonathan also named Air Marshall Alex Badeh from
Adamawa State as the new chief of air staff. Badeh was, until his new
appointment, the air officer commanding, Training Command, Kaduna. But,
Jonathan retained the incumbent chief of army staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Azubuike
Ihejirika from Abia State.
According to a reliable source from the State House, Admiral
Ibrahim had met with the president and the commander-in-chief and sought
permission to voluntarily retire after a meritorious service that has brought
him to the peak of the military. He later formalised the request and “President
Jonathan has accepted his reasons but, I am sorry, I don’t have the details of
his reasons for doing so”.
The source further disclosed that no sooner had it become known
that the CDS was going than lobby and scheming for his successor began. “There
are forces seriously lobbying for the remaining service chiefs: Lt. Gen.
Ihejirika, who is the most senior; Air Marshal Badeh of the Air Force and Vice
Admiral Ezeoba of the Navy.”
He explained that while those lobbying for Ihejirika might be
thinking he would get it on the platter of gold saying, “they might likely miss
it except they move faster. This is because those that are lobbying for Ezeoba
seem to be far ahead and those who are working for Badeh too are capitalising
on rotation of the CDS; their own point is ‘it is the turn of Air Force’.”
If Ihejirika secured the slot, which he had missed by a whisker
last year when he was asked to retain the COAS job, it means it is only his
successor that would be named by the president but “If Ezeoba was named the new
CDS, then, Ihejirika may be asked to go in order not to be serving under the
CDS who is of lower rank. The whole scenario would be unfolded within the next
few days,” he said.
The source also disclosed that some forces from the north have
begun plotting how the successor of Ihejirika would be one of their cronies.
When some of officers that were eyeing the post were retired recently, hell was
literally let loose as a section of the media began a war against Ihejirika,
accusing him of paving the way to Major General Minimah to succeed him. But in
a swift reaction, the Army faulted the claim, describing the media war as the
handiwork of those that were voluntarily retired from the military.
Meanwhile, a new director of defence information, DDI, has been
appointed for the Defence Headquarters. He is Brigadier General Chris
Olukolade.
Olukolade replaced the former DDI, Colonel Mohammed Yerima.
A statement issued and signed by Group Captain A. Makun stated
that “following recent postings in the Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General Chris
Olukolade has been appointed new Director of Defence Information”.
It added that Brig. Gen. Olukolade assumed duty yesterday after
a handing over and taking over between the two senior officers at the Defence
Headquarters, Abuja.
He had served as the director of army public relations and
one-time spokesman of the ECOMOG Force in Liberia and Sierra-Leone.
Until his new appointment, Olukolade was a staff officer at the
Defence Headquarters, Abuja.
Source: Leadership
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