Tag: President asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Friday carried out a major shake-up in the military hierarchy, dismissing the service chiefs and appointing new officers to take their place.
A statement signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, said the action was part of efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s national security architecture.
The President named former Army Chief, General Olufemi Oluyede, as the new Chief of Defence Staff, replacing General Christopher Musa.
Others appointed are:
Major-General W. Shaibu as Chief of Army Staff
Air Vice Marshal S.K. Aneke as Chief of Air Staff
Rear Admiral I. Abbas as Chief of Naval Staff
The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major-General E.A.P. Undiendeye, retained his position.
It is understood that the development is expected to spark mass retirements within the military hierarchy. By tradition, senior officers who are contemporaries of the outgoing service chiefs are likely to proceed on retirement.
The newly appointed service chiefs are from Course 40 of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), replacing their predecessors from Course 39, including General Oluyede.
Under military convention, officers from senior courses cannot serve under their juniors. This means generals from Course 39 and some from Course 40 will have to retire to pave the way for the new leadership.
According to Leadership Weekend, members of Course 39 still occupy key roles such as Principal Staff Officers at Service Headquarters and Commanders of tri-service institutes.
Military sources who spoke with the platform disclosed that more than 50 senior officers are likely to voluntarily leave service following the appointments.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to provide Nigerians with a clear and transparent explanation for what it described as the “sudden and unexpected reshuffling” of the country’s military leadership.
The opposition party’s demand follows the President’s recent sack of most of the Service Chiefs he appointed nearly two years ago.
In a statement issued by its National Publicity Secretary, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC expressed concern that the reshuffle came soon after widespread rumours of an attempted coup.
Abdullahi said although the President has the constitutional right to make changes in the military hierarchy, the timing of this decision raises serious questions. He added that the government’s reaction to the coup rumours lacked clarity and created confusion among Nigerians.
According to the ADC, many of the dismissed officers had barely served three years in office, with the now-removed Chief of Defence Staff only promoted last year. The party warned that such a sweeping change could unsettle the military and threaten internal stability.
The statement further stressed that the government owes the public a full and transparent account of what truly prompted the decision. It accused the Tinubu administration of being distracted from critical national security challenges, pointing out that insurgency and banditry continue to spread across the country.
The ADC said the wholesale replacement of military heads could fuel more suspicion and conspiracy theories among citizens. It therefore called on the government to act transparently and assure the public that Nigeria’s democracy remains stable and secure.
“As an opposition party, our concern is the peace and stability of Nigeria,” the ADC said, warning that the situation in neighbouring Chad and other Sahel countries should serve as a reminder of the dangers of political distraction in times of insecurity.
President Tinubu Sacks Service Chiefs
The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has warned that President Bola Tinubu’s recent presidential pardon could undermine investors’ confidence in Nigeria.
The Centre noted that a situation whereby persons convicted of economic and financial crimes benefit from the presidential pardon raises questions about policy consistency, contract sanctity, and investment security, thereby discouraging both domestic and foreign investors.
CPPE Chief Executive Officer, Dr Muda Yusuf, raised the concern in a statement on Sunday.
According to the economic think-tank, while the prerogative of mercy is a legitimate constitutional instrument, its application to serious economic and financial offences and other criminal acts demands utmost discretion, transparency, and alignment with Nigeria’s commitments to anti-corruption campaign, drug control and the sanctity of human life.
CPPE urged the Federal Government to urgently review and rationalise the list of beneficiaries of the presidential pardon.
“Reaffirm Nigeria’s zero-tolerance position on corruption, drug trafficking, illegal mining, and financial crimes; uphold institutional integrity and ensure that justice is never compromised for convenience or political expediency; and strengthen transparency and accountability in the exercise of executive clemency to safeguard public confidence and investor trust.
“Nigeria’s aspiration to build a competitive, diversified, and globally respected economy rests on the credibility of its institutions and integrity of its governance. The perception of weak sanction regimes towards economic and financial crimes is incompatible with this goal.
“To preserve investor confidence and social stability, government must demonstrate unwavering commitment to accountability, effective consequence management and the rule of law. The credibility of Nigeria’s economic reform and investment promotion drive depends largely on it,” CPPE stated.
Recall that on October 11, 2025, the Presidency released the names of 175 persons granted clemency, including illegal miners, drug traffickers and kidnappers.
Tinubu’s decision had triggered public outrage and condemnation.
Meanwhile, a statement from the Federation and Minister of Justice, Prince Lateef Fagbemi, SAN, clarified that the list of those pardoned is subject to review.
2027: Why Tinubu Will Lose – Aregbesola
Rauf Aregbesola, a former Minister of Interior and National Secretary of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has explained why President Bola Tinubu is likely to lose the 2027 general elections.
He stated that regardless the grandstanding of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, the African Democratic Congress, ADC, will take over the mantle of leadership in Nigeria and in most of the states.
Aregbesola said this on Saturday in Ilorin while fielding questions in an interview with newsmen after the commissioning of the state secretariat of the party along Basin Road, Ilorin.
“If APC is confident of its strength, it won’t be so hyped and charged as to be hounding and hunting opposition all over the place.
“How can we interpret what APC is doing all over Nigeria to us? They are harassing and intimidating everyone of our members, not just our leaders but nationwide, be it Lagos, Kebbi, Kaduna.
“If indeed they are confident of the strength they are showcasing, one would expect that they will be so calm but reverse is the case, so what does that tell you?
“They themselves know that they are not popular and the party that will harvest their unpopularity is ADC.
“Regardless of the grandstanding, by the grace of God, ADC will take over the mantle of leadership in Nigeria and in most of the state,” he said.
Weighing in on governors joining the ruling APC, the former Interior Minister said that those going to the APC were the enemies of the people.
In the same vein, the immediate past governor of Kwara State, who dumped PDP to join ADC, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, told journalists that his party is prepared to take over mantle of leadership in the country.
2027: How To Defeat Tinubu – Dele Momodu
Ovation Magazine publisher, Dele Momodu, has stated that the only viable path for the opposition to defeat President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 presidential election is to zone the presidency to the Muslim North and the vice presidency to the Christian South.
Momodu stated this on Friday while responding to questions in an interview on Arise Television.
He said President Tinubu had already locked down the South, making it almost impossible for any southern presidential candidate to compete effectively against him.
“It’s obvious that the ruling government has already turned this into an ethnic battle, and it’s going to be a battle of North versus South.
“That is why you saw PDP and APC apparatchiks all struggling to insist that a candidate must come from the South. They know that President Tinubu has already locked down the South, and nobody — not Peter Obi, not Goodluck Jonathan, will be able to catch up with him where he is right now,” he said.
According to him, President Tinubu’s immense financial resources and control of state structures give him a major advantage, adding that only a strategic counterbalance from the North could tilt the balance in favour of the opposition.
The former presidential candidate also dismissed the notion that such zoning would undermine fairness or the principle of power rotation, arguing that the idea of an eight-year turn for the North and South was not enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.
Former senator Ben Murray-Bruce has revealed details of a private conversation he shared with President Bola Tinubu ahead of the 2023 presidential election.
In an interview with TVC News on Friday, Murray-Bruce said the president has fulfilled the promises he made during the conversation.
The former lawmaker said he asked Tinubu, “You are going to have 36 ministers and ministers of state, how are you going to run the economy with over 40 people you don’t even know?”
In response, according to him, the president said, “I only need eight people to run Nigeria”,
The APC chieftain countered opposition figures criticising the current administration, stating that President Tinubu has kept his campaign promises.
“He chose the right people, and they have made a difference to the economy. He also shocked me on the first day in the office when he said he would deregulate and float the currency.
“Two years after my question to him, he did exactly what I asked him to do”, the former lawmaker said.
The former lawmaker recently dumped the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for the All Progressives Congress, APC.