A new page in Nigeria's history was written yesterday as President Goodluck Jonathan appointed Major-General Onyeabo Azubike Ihejirika as the Chief of Army Staff. Ihejirika is the first Igbo to occupy the highly strategic military position since the end of the Civil War.
The last time an officer from the South-east occupied the position was 44 years ago. The late Major-General Johnson Thomas Umunnakwe Aguiyi-Ironsi was General Officer Commanding the Army (as Chief of Army Staff was then known) before he became head of state following the failed coup led by Major Kaduna Nzeogwu.
Ihejirika, a former General Officer Commanding 83, Division, Lagos, replaces Gen. Abdulrahman Dambazzau.Ihejirika is now in a position to become the first four-star General of Igbo extraction in the history of the Nigerian Army.
President Jonathan dropped all the service chiefs as well as the Inspector-General of Police and the Director-General of State Security Service (SSS).
Air Marshal Oluseyi Petinrin, former Chief of Air Staff, has been appointed the Chief of Defence Staff, replacing Air Chief Marshal Paul Dike.Rear Admiral O. S. Ibrahim, Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command replaces Admiral Ishaya Ibrahim as the Chief of Naval Staff while Air Vice Marshal M.D. Umar takes over from Petinrin as the Chief of Air Staff..
Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) Zone 9, Umuahia, Alhaji Hafiz Ringim, is the new Inspector General of Police. He takes over from Mr. Ogbonna Onovo.
Mr. Ita Ekpeyong, former SSS Director in Lagos, replaces Mr. Afakiriya Gadzama as the director general of the State Security Sservice (SSS).Ringim's elevation is expected to lead to the retirement of the six Deputy Inspector-Generals of Police (DIGs) who are all his seniors.
They are: Uba Ringim (Administration and Finance), Israel Ajao (Operations), John Ahmadu (CID), Declan Uzorma (Works), Olusegun Efuntayo (Training), and Udom Ekpo Udom (Research and Planning).
In a six-paragraph statement, the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ima Niboro, said the appointments, which take immediate effect, "are however subject to the confirmation of the National Assembly, in line with the provision of the armed forces act section 18, Cap A20, laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria".
Niboro said Jonathan thanked the outgoing service chiefs, "whose tenure expired in August, for their loyalty and dedication to service. He particularly commended them for defending the Nigerian constitution at all times and for successful command of the armed forces during their tenure".
Since the current democratic dispensation in 1999, no service chief has spent more than two years in office, with the exception of former army chief Gen. Martin Agwai, who spent over two years.
The tenures of the former chiefs were said to have lapsed last month.A Defence source told THISDAY yesterday: "This is the first time a democratic government is following laid-down rules in the appointment of service chiefs. In the past, their names were announced and they assumed office without recourse to the National Assembly."
A Presidency source said the service chiefs had not been removed before now because the president believed there was no need.
"There were pressures on him to change the chiefs, but he insisted that he was on a joint ticket with the late President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua and would not remove anybody except it was absolutely necessary. Their tenures have expired now so there is no issue with that," he said.
Asked if the appointment of an Igbo as army chief would not be interpreted as a political move, he said: "The ethnic origin is of no significance to the president. We must accept that Nigeria belongs to us all. We must send the signals out clearly that there are no positions in the country that cannot be occupied by a particular person because of his or her ethnic origin."
Significantly, there is no service chief from the South-south where the president comes from, but an insider said it does not matter "because the biggest position in the land is already occupied by a person from that geo-political zone".
The removal of Onovo, THISDAY learnt, was not unconnected with the unchecked crime wave in the country, especially kidnapping.
His refusal to obey a court summons recently is also said to have irked the president who was said to have described the incident as an affront on the rule of law and an embarrassment to the government.
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