PRESIDENT Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Monday met behind closed doors with the newly appointed Service Chiefs at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.
The meeting, which held at the Council Chamber, began at about midday. While the specific agenda was not immediately disclosed, sources suggested it may be linked to ongoing efforts to strengthen the country’s security architecture amid persistent security challenges across various regions.
The Presidency had earlier said the recent shake-up in the military leadership was part of the President’s strategic moves to enhance professionalism, improve operational efficiency, and reposition the security forces for better performance.
News Point Nigeria gathered that those in attendance include the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff, Major General Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Kennedy Aneke; and the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Idi Abbas.
The meeting is expected to focus on reviewing current security operations, evaluating strategic priorities, and aligning the new leadership team with the President’s security directives.
It is Tinubu’s first official meeting with the new military leadership team.
He, however, retained Major-General E.A.P. Undiendeye as the Chief of Defence Intelligence.
Critics have claimed that the recent reshuffle of the military hierarchy is due to an alleged coup attempt. Photo: X@HQNigerianArmy
Dare, who confirmed the reshuffle, linked it to “the efforts of the Federal Government of Nigeria to strengthen the national security architecture”.
“All appointments take immediate effect,” he wrote.
But critics have faulted the rejig of the military hierarchy, with the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC) asking President Tinubu to come out clean on the reason for the move.
“Our position remains, therefore, that the Federal Government owes Nigerians a categorical explanation about what truly happened,” the ADC wrote in a statement by its spokesman, Bolaji Abdullahi.
“As an opposition political party, our interest remains the stability of our country and our democracy. In the light of developments in our neighbourhood of Chad and the Sahel States, we are gravely concerned.”