The Presidency has denied the reports that the removal and replacement of Nigeria’s service chiefs were linked to a coup plot.
The speculation about a planned military takeover surfaced after the Defence Headquarters reportedly detained 16 senior officers over alleged “indiscipline and breach of service regulations,” amid speculation of coup plottings.
However, the Defence Headquarters swiftly debunked the story.
Reacting on Friday, the Senior Special Assistant to President Tinubu, on Media and Publicity, Tope Ajayi, disclosed that the President acted purely to refresh the military command after two years of sustained operations.
“This is not a reaction to any rumour of coups. He is exercising his powers. The service chiefs have done two years,” Ajayi said.
Ajayi disclosed that the change was aimed at injecting “new direction, vision, vigour and energy” into the Armed Forces. He maintained that the country continues to grapple with multiple security threats, making the leadership overhaul necessary.
“We are fighting security issues, Boko Haram in the North-East, banditry in the North-West, IPOB and ESN in the South-East, kidnapping in the South-West, and other crises in the North-Central,” he stated.
The presidential aide further noted that security operations had dominated national spending, leaving other critical sectors starved.
“In the last 15 years, look at our national budget, security taking the largest chunk. The President wants to deal with this matter once and for all, so that the money going into defence expenditure will be better deployed to fund critical infrastructure like power, roads, broadband, education, and healthcare,” Ajayi said.
Ajayi stressed that the President’s decision was lawful and consistent with constitutional provisions.
“Every appointee of government, whether you are minister, head of agency, or service chief, serves at the pleasure of the President. Nobody has a secure tenure.
” The only two people in the Federal Government who have a guarantee of tenure are the President and the Vice President,” he explained.
