June 29, (THEWILL) – The Ministry of Defence has asked all Senior officers on the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Regular Course 38 and below to voluntarily retire from service following President Bola Tinubu’s recent appointment of new Service Chiefs.
According to The Whitsler, the directive was contained in an internal memo dated June 26 and signed by Maj. General Y. Yahaya, on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Maj. Gen. Christopher Musa.
However, THEWILL gathered that all the new service chiefs, except the new CDS, are members of the NDA regular course 39.
The memo noted that seniors of the new service chiefs must exit the military “in order to preserve and uphold the tenets of the military profession, which values hierarchy and service discipline.”
The affected officers including generals, brigadiers-general, air vice marshals, and admirals in the Nigerian Army, Air Force, and Nigerian Navy are directed to submit their retirement applications to their respective Service Headquarters not later than July 3, 2023.
The memo read partly: “It would be recalled that the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, recently appointed new CDS and Service Chiefs on 19 Jun 23.
“Consequently, I am directed to respectfully request Services to direct all officers with seniority on commission above that of NDA Regular Course 39 to submit their applications for voluntary retirement from Service with immediate effect.
“It is important that all officers whose officer cadet courses run seniority above that of the current Service Chiefs disengage from the Service.”
A top officer of the Army, who confirmed the memo, said the process is a normal procedure where those on a higher regular course to the newly appointed Service Chiefs leave the Service to prevent insubordination.
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