The Senate on Thursday at plenary confirmed the appointment of Service Chiefs, nominated by President Bola Tinubu.
The confirmation was sequel to the consideration and approval of a motion brought by Senate Majority leader, Opeyemi Bamidela (APC-Ekiti), on confirmation of the shortlisted service chiefs.
Christopher Musa, a major general, was confirmed as the chief of defense staff; Taoreed Lagbaja, a major general, was confirmed as the chief of army staff; Emmanuel Ogalla, a rear admiral, as the chief of naval staff and Hassan Abubakar, an air vice marshal, as the chief of air staff.
Mr Tinubu appointed them on 19 June. However, they have since assumed duty making the screening and confirmation a mere formality.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that before their confirmation, the Senate suspended its order 1b and rule 1b, to make provision for the admittance of strangers into its chamber.
Those admitted into the chamber included the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Abdullahi Gumel, the nominated service chiefs and others.
Thereafter, the service chiefs took turns to highlight their career profiles and professional experiences, before the senate didsolved into a close session that lasted for three hours for screening of the nominees.
Earlier, Mr Musa pledged the commitment of the armed forces to serve Nigerians in line with the dictates of the Constitution. He said his nomination was an opportunity to bring his vast experiences to bear for the security, protection of lives and properties of Nigerians. He pledged to do his best to justify the confidence reposed in him.
Mr Ogalla said he would put in his best to upgrade the standard he met, assuring Nigerians that he was fully prepared for the job. According to him, he will improve existing strategies and develop new ones to secure the nation’s maritime waters.
Mr Ogalla said he would collaborate with other services to secure the nation’s waterways, adding that he would initiate continuous monitoring and surveillance to achieve maximum result.
Mr Abubakar said he would mobilise the nation’s air power to ensure peace and security of the country, in line with the aspiration of the president. He commended the efforts of previous leaders of the air force, but said a lot more needs to be done to revamp the fighting capabilities of the Nigerian Air Force.
Mr Tinubu, had in a letter addressed to President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, and read at plenary on Tuesday, sought approval of the Senate to confirm the service chiefs, in line with Section 18 (1) of the Armed Forces Act, 2004. The House of Representatives had on Tuesday constituted an ad hoc committee to screen the service chiefs. The committee has yet to conduct the screening.
Source: Premium Times
