Amidst growing calls for the sack of Nigeria’s Service Chiefs as a result of the collapsing security situation in the country, the Presidency on Tuesday said President Muhammadu Buhari reserved the right to either sack or retain the security chiefs.
Specifically, the president’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu dismissed calls for the sack of the Service Chiefs as completely ‘out of place’.
The presidency maintained that so long as the president remains satisfied with the performace of the security chiefs, he had the prerogative to keep them.
The recent massacre of at least 43 rice farmers at Zabarmari in the Jere Local Government Area of Borno State had sparked fresh call for the sacking of the country’s service chiefs.
Reacting to the call by several Nigerians who also want the president to rejig the country’s security architecture, Shehu said the decision to sack or retain any of the service chiefs is entirely the president’s.
He spoke on Monday night in an interview with Arise TV.
The presidential spokesman said, “I am not aware that the tenure of service chiefs is subjected to any law or regulation that is clearly stated. They serve at the pleasure of the president and (if) the president is satisfied with their performance, he keeps them. The buck stops on his table —with due respect to the feelings of Nigerians.
“The clamour for the sack is out of place considering that the president is not subject to the opinion of opposition political party which has clamoured for this all the time. It is entirely his own determination; he decides who he keeps as his service chiefs and for how long.”
Boko Haram were reported to have first tied up the farmers, who were working in rice fields, before slitting their throats.
Shehu had said the farmers had no military clearance to be on the rice farms when the attack happened.
His reaction was greeted by outrage on social media as many Nigerians lambasted him for blaming the dead.
Explaining further last night, Shehu said, “My suggestion in the earlier news report is that the military had not certified those areas as being free of landmines and terrorists’ intrusions. Whether there are processes for getting licences or commissions, it is not for me, the military is in a better position to describe those processes.”
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This Post: Buhari has prerogative to either sack or retain Service Chiefs says Presidency was approved and published by Ancity Media Editor and may not be republished elsewhere without prior written permission from the Editor.
