Buhari appoints new service chiefs, National Security Adviser

“APC United States of America global Secretariat salute President Buhari for these appointments and call on all Nigerians to support the new service chiefs and national security adviser”, John added.

Ayade noted that by the appointment of Admiral Ekwe Ibas as the new naval chief, President Buhari has indeed demonstrated his avowed declaration that he would be president for all.

His previous appointments include Naval Provost Marshal; Chief Staff Officer, Naval Training Command; Chief of Administration, Naval Headquarters and Flag Officer Commanding Western Naval Command. Babagana Monguno (rtd.), the National Security Adviser.

Mr Adesina did not give more details.

President Buhari appointed Major-General Munguno National Security Adviser against speculations that former Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. General Abdulrahman Dambazau, would most likely get the job.

Ryan Cummings, chief Africa analyst for Red24, a crisis and security management assistance company, said the hammer was long expected to fall on the military hierarchy.

But in a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, the National Chairman of LP, Abdulkadir Abdulsalam declared that, “It is my candid opinion that Mr. President should have exercised a little restraint in sacking the service chiefs; he should not have taken that action in a hurry”.

Speaking with BusinessDay, the analysts said they would expect that the President should follow up by appointing ministers to shore up the confidence of Nigerians.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari appointed new top military commanders Monday, hours after he sacked the country’s military chiefs in an apparent bid to restructure the army before tackling the ongoing Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria’s volatile northeast. He was a chief of Standards and Evaluation, NAF headquarters and has held several other appointments.

“All the Service Chiefs have cleared their desks including the NSA, and each day, they expect to receive the news of their sack, in that case, how do you expect someone to be in the right frame to prosecute a war as complex as the one against Boko Haram who use civilian targets as shield”, one official had said.