The Northern Governors’ Forum has hailed President Muhammadu Buhari’s decision to replace the country’s service chiefs.
Buhari had on Tuesday approved the immediate resignation of the then security chiefs and their retirement from service.
Those involved were the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt-Gen. Tukur Buratai; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe Ibas and Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
The President also announced the appointment of Maj-Gen. Lucky Irabor as CDS; Maj-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru as COAS; Rear Admiral Awwal Gambo as CNS and Air Vice Marshal Isiaka Amao as CAS.
Fielding questions from newsmen after meeting the President at the State House, Abuja, yesterday, Chairman of the Forum and Governor of Plateau State, Simon Lalong, said Buhari’s decision a right step towards addressing the menace of insecurity in the country.
He said: “The change of service chiefs is very commendable. We had serious cases of banditry, kidnapping and so many issues of insecurity in the country and will not expect that to continue.
“So, we are going to give maximum cooperation to the new service chiefs, while also commending the outgone ones for their roles in addressing issues of insecurity.”
Meanwhile, security expert, Dr. Ona Ekhomu, has advised the newly appointed military chiefs to predict victory over the insurgency in the Northeast, banditry in the Northwest and other sundry insurgencies in the country, saying by focusing on its achievement, they might in fact defeat the threats.
In a press statement issued in Lagos, Ekhomu, who is the National President of Association of Industrial Security and Safety Operator of Nigeria (AISSON), urged the service chiefs to employ sophisticated knowledge and cutting-edge military tools available to them to ensure victory.
He noted that they must be cerebral in approaching the “extant and existential security threats,” adding that the security situation is really quite troubling and needs to be addressed with utmost urgency and brilliance; hence they should apply structured analytical thinking in inventing solutions to the threats.
Ekhomu said that given the pedigree of the new CDS in particular, who he described as a “brainy, courageous and battle-hardened military officer,” he was sure the inter-service rivalry that had bedeviled integrated warfare against insurgents would be a thing of the past.
He commended the President for choosing an excellent set of officers as service chiefs and expressed confidence that they would quickly win the support and cooperation of Nigerians, which is crucial in defeating the insurgency in the country.
