Why FG May Delay Appointment of New Army Chief

Spread the love

10 / 100

There’s a tendency that the appointment of a new Army Chief may be delayed due to some factors surrounding it.

The late Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. General Ibrahim Attahiru died alongside other senior officers last Friday while on an official assignment to Zaria.

The plane crashed near the Kaduna Airport.

NPOreports gathered that tribal, regional may play their part in delaying the appointment of the next 22nd COAS.

An intelligence Information obtained from PRNigeria, revealed that socio-political factors may likely play a role in the choice of the candidate for the Army Chief job.

The source said, “Those being touted as late Attahiru’s successors are eminently qualified on account of their vast qualifications, professional discipline, instructional appointments, service command, operational experiences, and above all managerial capabilities. They are suitable, but political consideration of regions, states and tribes may likely be some of the determinant factors.

“For instance, one of the latest names being pencilled down is Major General Jamil Sharham, originally of Regular Course 35 but running RC 36 seniority. He was the Sector Commander, Operation Restore Hope in the Niger Delta, and Brigade Commander at Baga in the North-East. Before he was appointed Commandant National Defence Academy (NDA), he was Commandant, Nigerian Army School of Infantry and GOC 6 Division. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow at NIPSS.”

However, an investigation revealed that the major dilemma in the choice of Sharham is the fact that he is from Kano State, where the Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (rtd) and the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, hails from.

A similar dilemma on tribe may play out since the present Chief of Policy and Plan (COPP), Major General Ben Ahonatu is an Igbo, like the current Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Lucky Irabor, though they are from different but neighbouring states of Anambra in South-East and Delta in South-South respectively.

General Ahanotu of Regular Course 35 and very fluent in Hausa. He was the Military Commander that captured the fou


Spread the love

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.