The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the Screening of Service Chief nominees has screened military chiefs nominated by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The nominees screened are Chief of Defence Staff Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa, Chief of Army Staff Maj. Gen. Abiodun Lagbaja, Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, and Chief of Air Staff, Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar.
The Leader of the House, Hon Julius Ihonvbare, while addressing the military chiefs said that the act was a step in the right direction.
He said it was important to have the engagement for the good of Nigerians.
He commended the president on the nomination of men that will make Nigeria proud
The Chairman of the Ad-hoc committee Hon Babajimi Benson said that the exercise was a necessary constitutional provision in the process of institutionalizing and legitimising the appointment of persons for the positions of service chiefs of the Armed Forces of the country.
Mr Benson stated that the House takes the screening seriously and will always do it meticulously in accordance with its extant rules.
He noted that for more than sixteen years, Nigeria has witnessed diverse and unprecedented levels of insecurity in which the Armed Forces have been fully involved prompting the launch of several theatres of operations and exercises as well as providing support for tackling several domestic security challenges.
“The House of Representatives is delighted with the successes recorded so far, especially in the last year. We acknowledge these robust achievements which is a proof of the level of professionalism often displayed by our military in the discharge of their duties. We urge you to effectively collaborate with sister security agencies to ensure that all security threats are completely neutralized, and Nigerians can live peacefully. Honourable colleagues, nominees, ladies and gentlemen, the world of security is dynamic and ever-changing,” Hon Benson said.
The committee chairman said that new security threats are emerging across the globe, where wars are not only fought on land, sea, and air but also in cyberspace.
He stressed the need for Nigeria to tap into and harness the potential of having a Defence Space Force, like in the United States of America.
Benson also emphasises the need for a full-fledged Defence Space Force to adequately handle potential threats from cyberspace and provide intelligence support to other services.
He assured the House of resolve to work collectively to deliver more on the goals of the administration to drastically reduce cases of insecurity across the country, through legislative activities, and rigorous oversight exercises, beginning from the screening, to ensure that the Armed Forces of Nigeria adhere strictly to the provisions of all Appropriation Acts as will be eventually passed by the National Assembly and accented to by Mr. President.
The committee chairman urged them to cooperate with the National Assembly while performing their constitutional duties of ensuring a peaceful, secure and prosperous country for all Nigerians.
” To the nominees, I urge you to kindly cooperate with the National Assembly while performing your constitutional duties of ensuring a peaceful, secure and prosperous country for all Nigerians. In the course of this screening exercise, we shall be asking pertinent questions that concern our constituents and Nigerians in general. Kindly feel free to oblige us with the necessary answers that will guide our deliberations. Please note that if confirmed, we shall thoroughly review your performance and painstakingly scrutinise every action you take”, he added.
The Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Christopher Musa while responding to the lawmakers, said that the Armed Forces of Nigeria will apply the lens of people-centricity to key components of activities to truly put the Nigerian people at the centre of its actions geared towards promoting and safeguarding a secure environment for all.
He further said that under his watch, the military will defend the country’s territorial integrity and democracy as well as safeguard internal security and unity to achieve the stability required to guarantee sustainable national development.
“I recognise the significance of leading the thousands of devoted and distinguished service men and women to provide a secure and peaceful environment for the Nigerian people to freely engage in their legitimate enterprise in line with the constitutional mandate of the Armed Forces of Nigeria. In this regard, the AFN under my leadership will be people-centric by prioritizing and safeguarding our people and their legitimate way of life as prescribed by the Nigerian Constitution”. Gen Musa said.
Speaking on the welfare of the troops, Musa said troops’ welfare and sound administration will provide the required atmosphere for the Armed Forces to deliver on its constitutional responsibilities.
“In this regard, service men and women of the AFN should be reassured of my commitment to their welfare, provision of relevant operational equipment as well as infrastructural development within available resources to enable them to succeed in assigned constitutional roles. I shall also promote international military cooperation/ collaboration to further expose and provide capacity building to AEN personnel in joint and combined operations outside the shores of Nigeria. This measure is required to consolidate on AFN welfare priorities in order to effectively deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt and sustained land, sea and air dominance by the AFN across traditional as well as asymmetric conflict settings as part of a joint force,” he said.
Also speaking at the screening, the Chief of Army Staff, Major Gen.Abiodun Lagbaja said that the Nigeria Army is the most misunderstood, complex and challenged component of the Nigeria Armed forces.
He said that security challenges in the last two decades have made governance more challenging and disrupted developmental progress in the country.
“I consider my nomination as a call to higher responsibilities and I am determined not to betray the trust and confidence reposed in me. It is an open secret that our country has faced a challenging security environment in the past two decades. It has impacted adversely on our socio-economic and political lives. The episodic crises of the past have now become enduring thereby making governance and the rule of law more challenging for successive administrations. Today’s painful reality is that insecurity has destroyed our developmental plans and aspirations of a strong, prosperous, globally competitive, and influential nation. Never in the recent is the requirement for proactive, adaptive and inclusive leadership more needed than Nigeria’s security environment of today. These requirements are what I intend to do as COAS if confirmed. I am mindful that the Nigerian Army, which I am being screened to lead is a crucial component of our military instrument of national power. It is not only the largest, but the most complex, most geographically spread, most sought after during crisis and often most misunderstood. I believe that for the Nigerian Army to grapple with the demands of the contemporary security environment, it would consistently transform to be a step ahead of its time. For this reason, I conceptualise my philosophy of command as to transform the Nigerian Army into a well-trained, equipped na highly motivated force toward achieving our constitutional responsibilities within a joint environment. I intend to partner with the National Assembly and other stakeholders in achieving this command philosophy,” Lagbaja said.
The Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, and the Chief of Air Staff, Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar were also screened by the House
The meeting afterward went into a closed door.
The House will announce the confirmation of the service chiefs in subsequent sittings.
Dominica Nwabufo
