New Telegraph

Senate confirms Yahaya as Chief of Army Staff

The Senate, yesterday, confirmed the appointment of Major General Faruk Yahaya as the Chief of Army Staff. His confirmation followed the consideration of the report by the Senate Joint Committee of Defence and Army. Faruk was appointed on May 27, 2021, by President Muhammadu Buhari following the death of the former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, in a plane crash which occurred in Kaduna on May 21, 2021. Before his appointment, Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding Division 1 of the Nigerian Army and Theatre Commander of the Counter Terrorism, Counter Insurgency military outfit in the North East code named Operation HADIN KAI.

While presenting the report, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko (APC, Sokoto North), said that the Committee was satisfied with the comprehensive and robust nature of the engagement with the nominee during his screening. According to the lawmaker, Faruk’s nomination was in line with section 217 (2abc) of the 1999 Constitution as amended and in accordance with the provision of sections 18(1) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap A20 Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. He disclosed that the Committee did not receive any petitions on the nominee, who was also cleared by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Wamakko said that during the screening exercise, “the nominee’s knowledge of the strategic capabilities of the Army was exhaustive and impressive.” “He showed a clear knowledge of the Army apt for a Chief of Army Staff. Despite the Army being the largest of the Armed Forces, the nominee was clear in his vision to encourage joint operational synergy with other services for success in all theatre of operations,” he said.

Senator Ali Ndume said, “Due to the nature of the appointment as part of our security apparatus, the Committee decided to do the screening in a closed session after the preliminaries. “And, therefore, I want to appeal to the Senate to expeditiously approve this confirmation so that the Chief of Army Staff can be decorated accordingly to enable him start some of the jobs he cannot do now because he is still in acting capacity.” Senator Gabriel Suswam, on his part, said given the track record of the nominee in the Nigerian Army, he is rightly equipped with the required experience to sufficiently tackle the issues of insurgency and terrorism bedeviling the country. In his remarks, the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, while commending the Joint Committee of Defence and Army for a thorough job done, advocated support for the military in the fight against insecurity.

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