Senate confirms CDS, Service Chiefs
The screening which lasted for about four hours was held in a closed door session.
President Muhammadu Buhari recently requested the red chamber , in a letter addressed to the Senate President , Bukola Saraki, to approve the appointment of Service Chiefs. He appointed them on July 13.
He also appointed Air Vice-Marshal Monday Morgan as Chief of Defence Intelligence and retired Major General Babagana Monguno as National Security Adviser.
At the commencement of plenary last week after a five week recess, Saraki announced that the Service Chiefs would be screened Tuesday.
The confirmed Service Chiefs include :Major General Abayomi Olonishakin, Chief of Defence Staff; Major General Tukur Buratai, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, Chief of Naval Staff; Air Vice-Marshal Sadique Abubakar, Chief of Air Staff.
The screening of the Service Chiefs dominated yesterday’s activities in the Senate . Shortly after approving the votes and proceedings of the last sitting , the Senate Leader, Ali Ndume, in a motion which was seconded by the Minority Leader, Senator Godswill Akpabio ushered the Service Chiefs into the Chamber.
But the Senate President quickly announced that the lawmakers would be going into an executive session as a result of the sensitive nature of security matters. There was no objection to the decision.
Both Ndume and Akpabio seconded a motion to that effect . The Chamber entered into the executive session at 11:25 am and did not come out till 4:15 pm.
Speaking on what transpired at the closed door session , Saraki said the Senators raised questions and advised the Service regarding what Nigerians expect from them .
He explained that such counsel and questions were based on the anticipated responsibilities they are going to discharge to the country.
Apart from that, the Senate President who insisted that the appointments of the Service Chiefs were based on merit stressed that they must live up to the responsibilities of their offices, particularly as it pertains to the on-going war against the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-east geo-political zone.
Saraki said; “it is clear that their appointments were based on merit. Their appointments as we all see is coming at a very crucial time with a lot of challenges, particularly the insurgents in the North-east and some of the other security issues. For example, the issue of oil theft that we talked about when they came before us.”
He advised the military heads to make effort to eliminate corruption in the procurement process even as he urged to curb oil theft which he said has adversely affected the nation’s national income.
According to him, addressing these problems will restore the image of the military establishment in the country, which he claimed is currently not in a good light.
The Senate President said “We hope that during their period of time, they will take up the responsibility required. We are all keen to restore the image and reputation of the Armed Forces. I believe that what we are starting today with their confirmation is the beginning of that journey to restore the glory of the Armed Forces of our great country.
“It is very important also as we emphasised to them on the issue of procurement procedure in the Armed Forces. It is an area that they must work hard to root out corruption in this process. We must leave behind those days where basic equipment and all these issues that we believe should be available for our men and women out there should be made available.”
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