Immediate past Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Army, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas has hailed the selection of the new Service Chiefs by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Monday evening announced the appointment of new Service Chiefs.
The statement signed by Willie Bassey, Director, Information Office of Secretary to the Government of the Federation announced Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as the new National Security Adviser. This is while Maj. Gen. C.G Musa is the new Chief of Defence Staff, Maj. Gen T. A Lagbaja is Chief of Army Staff, Rear Admiral E. A Ogalla is Chief of Naval Staff and AVM H.B Abubakar was appointed Chief of Air Staff.
For the police, DIG Kayode Egbetokun takes over as Acting Inspector-General of Police and Maj. Gen. EPA Undiandeye has been appointed Chief of Defense Intelligence.
Namdas in a brief chat with journalists in Abuja on Tuesday described the new security chiefs as square pegs in square holes.
He said: “In my view, the President made an excellent selection of officers that can help him fight insecurity in Nigeria. As chairman House Committee I got to know the Chief of Defence Staff Gen C.G. Musa and the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen T.A. Lagbaja. They have held command positions and they are very respected in the Nigerian Army. I have been told that the two other Service Chiefs are thorough professionals. When you add Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Adviser, I believe they will help the President achieve the desired results. As far as I am concerned these men are square pegs in square holes”.
When asked of the appropriateness of Ribadu’s appointment as NSA, the former lawmaker said the choice of a police officer as National Security Adviser isn’t new. This is as he expressed confidence in the abilities of the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to effectively coordinate the country’s security agencies.
“From the Adamawa State where I come from we produced the former Inspector-General of Police, Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta who was NSA to Gen Ibrahim Babangida. It is good to give other security agencies the opportunity to showcase their capacity. As you know, Nuhu Ribadu, was the pioneer chairman of EFCC and from the scratch, he designed the agency to what it still looks like today. And with the close relationship he has with the C-in-C, he will enjoy huge political will to implement whatever ideas he has. With the combination of the new Service Chief and NSA, I can assure you that we will see positive results by ourselves”, Namdas said.
Listing what he considered as good results from the new national security team, the former spokesman of the House said: “Nigerians crave a peaceful environment to live and work. For example, a famer in the North-West who cannot go to his farm or sleep well at home without unknown gun men asking for tax to farm, simply wants the restoration of peace and stability. These new appointees will certainly benefit from the political will of a President who promised to hit the ground running and he has done exactly this”.
“I see the new Service Chiefs and NSA being empowered in a manner that they will be able to get the desired results-which is mainly people being protected from kidnappers, unknown gunmen and dealing with Boko Haram” the ex-lawmaker further said.
