HeadlineReps Screen New Army Chief

Reps Screen New Army Chief

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June 15, (THEWILL)- The House of Representatives’ Committees on Army and Defence has screened President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominee for the position of Chief of Army Staff, Major General Farouk Yahaya.

The screening took place on Tuesday behind closed doors in the National Assembly chambers in Abuja.

Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House, read a letter from President Muhammadu Buhari during plenary session, seeking confirmation of Yahaya as COAS.

Babajimi Benson, Chairman of the Committee on Defence, said at the screening on Tuesday that the exercise was coming at a time when the country battled various security challenges.

He stated that Yahaya must ensure that he does everything possible to bring the insecurity to an end.

Speaking earlier, the new Army Chief in his introductory remarks, stated that contrary to public perception, there had been synergy among security agencies to tackle insurgency, especially since the emergence of the new service chiefs.

He also asked Nigerians to support the military in tackling the insecurity problem, promising to bring his experience in the Army to bear and work with other chiefs and all stakeholders to address security challenges in the country.

He said: “From my experience, this job cannot be done by a single service or entity, the army itself is a group work not individual and that is why we are arranged in sections, companies, battalions and brigades.

“Captured in the vision of the last COAS and in my vision too is the mention of a joint environment in what we do, having realised that this job is not a one service job.

“It also requires other agencies and stakeholders and as we speak, the former Chief had already gathered these as a cornerstone for the achievement of his mandate, you see the composition of the Army, Navy and Air Force and including the Police, DSS and Civil Defence and all other stakeholders.

“As we know, internal security is intelligence driven operation and so we need others including communities, opinion leaders, traditional rulers and all others who can provide information.

“Because the enemy hides within us, so it is they who should provide information, we should support this and work together.”

He pledged his cooperation with the lawmakers and urged them to leverage on their offices to get information from the grassroots to address security challenges in the country.

THEWILL reports that the President had appointed Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff on May 27, 2021.

The appointment came days after the immediate past army chief, Lieutenant-General Ibrahim Attahiru died in an air crash in Kaduna along with 10 other military officials.

Prior to his appointment, Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counter-Terrorism, Counter-Insurgency military outfit in the North East code-named Operation Hadin Kai.

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