Major Reshuffling in Nigerian Armed Forces as New Service Chiefs Appointed, Over 20 Senior Officers Set to Exit

…By Lola Smith for TDPel Media.

In accordance with the established tradition and customs of the Nigerian Armed Forces, a significant number of senior military officers, totaling over 20, will be leaving the service subsequent to the appointment of new Service Chiefs.

This development follows President Bola Tinubu’s recent decision to remove all previous service chiefs, the Inspector-General of Police, Advisors, and the Comptroller-General of Customs from their positions and replace them with new appointees.

According to a statement issued by Willie Bassey, the Director of Information in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the newly appointed individuals are expected to assume their roles immediately.

The outgoing officers affected by this reshuffling include Lucky Irabor, who has been relieved of his duties as the Chief of Defence Staff; Faruk Yahaya, who has retired as the Chief of Army Staff; Awwal Gambo, removed as the Chief of Naval Staff; and Isiaka Amao, who has retired as the Chief of Air Staff.

On the other hand, the incoming appointees are Maj. Gen. C.G Musa, assuming the position of Chief of Defence Staff; Maj. Gen. T.A Lagbaja, taking on the role of Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral E.A Ogalla, appointed as the Chief of Naval Staff; AVM H.B Abubakar, now serving as the Chief of Air Staff; and Maj. Gen. EPA Undiandeye, who has been appointed as the Chief of Defense Intelligence.

As reported by Daily Trust, military officers belonging to the same Regular Course as the new Chief of Defence Staff, who hails from Course 38, are generally not expected to serve under his leadership unless otherwise suggested.

It should be noted, however, that there are still members of Regular Course 37 within the service, indicating that they will all be exiting the service immediately after Musa assumes his new role.

At the time of filing this report, no official comments or statements have been made regarding these developments.

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