President Goodluck Jonathan has appointed a Niger Deltan, Major-General Kenneth Tobiah Jacob Minimah, to replace Lt.-General Azubuike Ihejirika as Chief of Army Staff (COAS). Jonathan also appointed Air Marshal Alex Badeh, immediate past Chief of Air Staff from Adamawa state to take over from Admiral Ola Sa’ad Ibrahim as Chief of Defence Staff (CDS). The President, according to a statement issued yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, also appointed Rear Admiral Usman O. Jibrin to take over from Vice Admiral Dele Joseph Ezeoba as Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), while Air Vice Marshal Adesola Nunayon Amosu, takes over from Badeh as Chief of Air Staff (CAS). The statement said all the changes were with immediate effect. The new CDS, Badeh, was born on January 10, 1957 and joined the Air Force as a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy’s (NDA’s) 21st Regular Course while the new COAS, Minimah, was born on July 27,1959 and joined the Army as a member of the NDA’s 25th Regular Course. Until his new appointment, Minimah was the Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps, Jaji. The new CNS, Jibrin was born on September 16, 1959 and joined the Navy as a member of the NDA’s 24th Regular Course. Until his appointment as Chief of Naval Staff, he was Director of Training at Defence Headquarters. The new Chief of Air Staff and immediate past Commander of the Presidential Air Fleet, Air Vice Marshal Amosu was born on August 1,1958 and joined the Air Force as a member of the NDA’s 25th Regular Course. Until his new appointment, Air Vice Marshal Amosu was the Air Officer Commanding, Tactical Air Command, Makurdi. Although the statement did not give reasons for the changes, they were believed to be long overdue because the sacked officers have exceeded their retirement periods in service. Similarly, they were believed to have failed woefully to contain the menace of the Boko Haram phenomenon, leading to avoidable loss of human lives in the North-east part of the country. Badeh’s appointment, according to many keen observers, was deliberate to challenge him to work hard to stop the insurgency, coming from one of the three states that are worst hit, and currently under State of Emergency. Minimah’s appointment has been widely speculated in the past nearly two years, and is widely seen as Jonathan’s bid to entrust his own safety in the care of a kinsman, what with the controversies trailing preparations for the 2015 elections. In the meantime, Barrister Festus Keyamo has claimed that the removal of the Service Chiefs by the president was in compliance with the judgment of the Federal High Court in the case of Festus Keyamo Vs. President and 4 others (which declared the previous appointments null and void) is a welcome development. Keyamo, in a statement, recalled that he issued a 14-day ultimatum last week to all relevant parties to comply with the judgement. “Therefore, the appointments of the new Service Chiefs that have just been made subject to the confirmation of the National Assembly (in compliance with the judgment) were also commendable”, he said, and commended President Jonathan “for obeying the rule of law”.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 08:18:41 +0000
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