While denying that the military shake-up was connected to a rumored coup plot, the Presidency said it was a move to “inject new direction” into the armed forces.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said that Tinubu acted within his authority to make leadership changes in the military.
“Service chiefs can be hired and fired by the President. He is the Commander-in-Chief. He has the power to hire and fire,” Onanuga said.
Earlier on Friday, the President had announced sweeping changes in the military hierarchy.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, named General Olufemi Oluyede as the new Chief of Defence Staff, replacing General Christopher Musa.
It added, “The new Chief of Army Staff is Major-General W. Shaibu; Air Vice Marshall S.K. Aneke is Chief of Air Staff; while Rear Admiral I. Abbas is the new Chief of Naval Staff. Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major-General E.A.P. Undiendeye, retains his position.”
Tinubu charged the new service chiefs to justify the confidence reposed in them by enhancing the professionalism, vigilance, and comradeship that define Nigeria’s Armed Forces.
The appointments, Dare said, took immediate effect.
The development came barely a week after an online media platform, Sahara Reporters, published a story alleging that some military officers plotted to remove President Tinubu.
The report, which went viral on October 19, linked the detention of 16 military officers to the purported coup and claimed that the cancellation of the Independence Day military parade was part of efforts to suppress internal unrest in the military.
However, the Defence Headquarters denied the story.
In a statement signed by the Director of Defence Information, Brig. Gen. Tukur Gusau, the military dismissed the report as “false and intended to cause unnecessary tension and distrust among the populace.”
Gusau said the cancellation of the Independence Day parade was “purely administrative” and that the detained officers were being investigated for “issues of indiscipline.”
He maintained that the armed forces remained loyal to the Constitution and to the President.
Still, the timing of the service chiefs’ removal — barely days after the coup report — has continued to fuel public suspicion.
Why Tinubu sacked service chiefs — Presidency
Reacting to the speculation, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, explained that the move followed two years of sustained operations under the previous chiefs.
He noted that the move reflected the President’s desire “to inject new direction, vision, vigour and energy” into the military.
“This is not a reaction to any rumour of coups. He is exercising his powers.”
