The Presidency has given an explanation why President Bola Tinubu sacked and replaced service chiefs in the country.
While denying that the military shake-up was connected to a rumored coup plot, the presidency stated that it was a move to “inject new direction” into the armed forces.
Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, told Saturday PUNCH that Tinubu acted within his authority to make leadership changes in the military.
“Service chiefs can be hired and fired by the president. He is the Commander-in-Chief. He has the power to hire and fire,” Onanuga said.
Earlier on Friday, Tinubu had announced sweeping changes in the military hierarchy.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, named General Olufemi Oluyede as the new Chief of Defence Staff, replacing General Christopher Musa.
It added, “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.”
Tinubu challenged the incoming service chiefs to justify the trust placed in them by improving the professionalism, vigilance, and comradery that distinguish Nigeria’s Armed Forces.
According to Dare, the appointments took effect immediately.
The development happened just a week after Sahara Reporters, an online media site, released an article suggesting that some military officers conspired to oust President Tinubu.
The article, which went viral on October 19, linked the incarceration of 16 military personnel to the alleged coup and stated that canceling the Independence Day military parade was part of measures to quell internal dissatisfaction in the military.
However, Defense Headquarters refuted the claims.
Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, Director of Defence Information, issued a statement dismissing the report as “false and intended to cause unnecessary tension and distrust among the populace.”
Gusau stated that the postponement of the Independence Day parade was “purely administrative” and that the detained officers were being investigated for “indiscipline.”
He insisted that the armed forces remain faithful to the Constitution and the president.
Nonetheless, the timing of the service chiefs’ removal—just days after the coup report—has fueled popular mistrust.
In response to the rumors, Tope Ajayi, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, stated that the decision followed two years of continuous operations under the former heads.
He stated that the move represented the president’s intention “to inject new direction, vision, vigor, and energy” into the military.
“This is not a reaction to any rumor of coups. He is exercising his powers. The service chiefs have done two years,” Ajayi said.
“We are fighting security issues—Boko Haram in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, IPOB and ESN in the South-East, kidnapping in the South-West, and other crises in the North-Central,” he added.
Ajayi stressed that the president’s action was lawful.
He also mentioned that the country’s heavy security spending in recent years had drained funds from other key sectors.
“In the last 15 years, look at our national budget—security taking the largest chunk. The president wants to deal with this matter once and for all so that the money going into defense expenditure will be better deployed to fund critical infrastructure like power, roads, broadband, education, and healthcare,” he said.
Ajayi also stated that the President’s decision was consistent with the constitutional provision that all appointees serve at the President’s pleasure.
“Every appointee of government, whether you are minister, head of agency, or service chief, serves at the pleasure of the President. Nobody has a secure tenure. The only two people in the Federal Government who have a guarantee of tenure are the President and the Vice President,” he explained.
