The Presidency claimed that the military reorganization was an attempt to “inject new direction” into the armed forces, but denied that it was related to a suspected coup plot.

The President has the authority to appoint and dismiss service chiefs. The Commander-in-Chief is him. He may hire and fire people,” Onanuga stated.

The President had earlier Friday announced significant changes to the military leadership.

General Christopher Musa has been replaced as Chief of Defense Staff by General Olufemi Oluyede, according to a statement released by Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication.

Additionally, it stated that Rear Admiral I. Abbas is the new Chief of Naval Staff, Air Vice Marshall S.K. Aneke is the new Chief of Air Staff, and Major-General W. Shaibu is the new Chief of Army Staff. Major-General E.A.P. Undiendeye, the Chief of Defense Intelligence, is still in his role.
Tinubu tasked the incoming service chiefs with upholding the professionalism, alertness, and camaraderie that characterize Nigeria’s Armed Forces in order to demonstrate why people have faith in them.

According to Dare, the appointments were effective right away.

The event occurred just one week after Sahara Reporters, an online news outlet, reported that some military commanders had planned to overthrow President Tinubu.

The article, which went viral on October 19, said that the cancelation of the Independence Day military parade was part of an attempt to quell internal dissatisfaction in the military and connected the incarceration of 16 military personnel to the alleged coup.

Defense Headquarters, however, refuted the report.

The military rejected the claim as “false and intended to cause unnecessary tension and distrust among the populace,” according to a statement signed by Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, Director of Defense Information.

Gusau stated that the detained officers were being looked into for “issues of indiscipline” and that the Independence Day parade postponement was “purely administrative.”
He insisted that the military remained devoted to the President and the Constitution.

However, popular mistrust has been heightened by the departure of the service chiefs just a few days after the coup report.

Tinubu’s reasons for firing service chiefs—Presidency

Tope Ajayi, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, responded to the rumors by stating that the action was taken after two years of consistent operations under the previous heads.

According to him, the action demonstrated the President’s intention to “infuse new direction, vision, vigor, and energy” into the armed forces.

This isn’t a response to any coup rumors. He is using his authority. Two years have been completed by the service chiefs.

He went on to say, “We are fighting security issues — kidnapping in the South-West, IPOB and ESN in the South-East, banditry in the North-West, Boko Haram in the North-East, and other crises in the North-Central.”
The President’s conduct was legal, Ajayi emphasized.

He added that money from other important areas had been diverted in recent years due to the nation’s high security expenditures.

“Take a look at our national budget for the past 15 years; security has taken up the biggest portion. In order to properly allocate funds for defense spending to vital infrastructure like power, roads, broadband, healthcare, and education, the president wishes to resolve this issue once and for all, he stated.

The constitutional clause stating that all appointees serve at the president’s pleasure was in line with the president’s decision, Ajayi continued.

“The president appoints all government officials, whether they are ministers, heads of agencies, or chiefs of services. No one has a tenure that is secure. He clarified that the president and vice president are the only two federal employees who are guaranteed tenure.

Despite the justifications, rumors that the shake-up was related to the purported coup plot have persisted.

People who link the change of service chiefs to the alleged coup attempt “have a point,” according to a senior security officer in one of the intelligence services.

It is difficult to obtain information regarding the issue. We continue to abide by the military’s official stance that there was no coup attempt.

Nonetheless, there is merit to the argument made by those who link the dismissal of the military chiefs to the alleged coup plot. “People will undoubtedly combine the two and form their opinions,” he stated.

Additionally, Nigerians connected the announcement’s date to rumors of arrests in the military on X.

“Some of the military service chiefs were sacked today, and there were rumors of a military coup last week,” Ikechukwu Ude stated. Although the rumor was refuted, it appears to be accurate at the moment based on the dismissal of service chiefs! If military generals want to overthrow any government, no civilian with little ability can stop them.

Muduwa Kerra, another Nigerian, claimed that the dismissal of the service chiefs demonstrated how near a coup the nation was.

Abraham Uyanna also asked, “Why is there a sudden change of service chiefs if there was no attempted coup?”

ADC Demand answers

President Tinubu has been requested by the African Democratic Congress to provide an explanation for the country’s military leadership change.

The party said in a statement released Friday by its National Publicity Secretary, Bolaji Abdullahi, “We observe that almost all of the removed service chiefs were appointed just 28 months ago, with the current Chief of Defense Staff himself being appointed as Chief of Army Staff just a year ago.”

Additionally, we observe that such a decision couldn’t have been made without compelling justification because it has significant and far-reaching effects on internal stability. Therefore, we continue to hold that the Federal Government owes Nigerians a clear account of what actually transpired.

The stability of our nation and democracy continue to be of utmost importance to us as an opposition political party. We are extremely concerned about the events in the Sahel States and our neighbor, Chad.

The almost complete reorganization of the country’s military leadership, according to the ADC, is more likely to feed rumors and conspiracy theories than to dispel them.

Appointments are met with conflicting responses.
Experts in security also had differing opinions on the modifications.

Col. Yomi Dare (retd), a former Director of Legal Services in the Nigerian Army, said the new service chiefs’ appointment was a morale boost.

Other than the fact that the departing officers have fulfilled their duties, he stated, “there is no security implication.” Since they were appointed, the new service heads now need to be inspired to perform well. In other words, they ought to evaluate the accomplishments of their forebears and draw lessons from their mistakes.

In a similar vein, Mike Ejiofor, a former director of the Department of State Services, pointed out that although the president was empowered by the constitution to make such adjustments, operational and financial constraints continued to be the main obstacle.

Since all of the service chiefs have been operating under extremely challenging circumstances, he stated, “I don’t think that changing them will necessarily make a difference.”

We must also keep in mind that they are functioning under severe financial limitations. The defense budget this year is said to be the largest yet, but has it been put into action? Since the money hasn’t been released, they are operating in an extremely difficult climate.

Ejiofor asked the federal government to improve agency collaboration and give the release of funding top priority.
He suggested that the incoming service leaders build on the progress made by their predecessors, as the former had already established a foundation.

Security analyst Akogun-Abudu Oluwamayowa criticized the overhaul’s timeliness and necessity.

“Changing the service chiefs is not the solution to the insecurity that is plaguing this nation. Our lack of perimeter fencing is one of the issues we are dealing with. Without any restrictions, people from other nations enter our nation and cause chaos. If significant problems are not addressed, the adjustment might not be successful,” he stated.

He asked the new leaders to put the soldiers’ well-being first.

“Soldiers’ well-being, not their training, is the best welfare.” They don’t even make enough money. These folks are in a lot of pain. “I suggest that these new service chiefs stand up for the troops and consider their well-being,” he said.