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President Muhammadu Buhari
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The Presidency on Tuesday said that the decision to appoint or sack Service Chiefs was President Muhammadu Buhari’s prerogative. The Presidency also said that President Buhari, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, will do what is in the best interest of the country at all times. The Presidency reaction was a sequel to the resolution adopted by the Senate during plenary calling on the Service Chiefs to resign or be sacked due to the multi-pronged security challenges in the country.
The Presidency in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Adesina said: “The Presidency notes the resolution, and reiterates that appointment or sack of Service Chiefs is a Presidential prerogative, and President Muhammadu Buhari, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, will do what is in the best interest of the country at all times.”The resolution of the Senate came on the heels of the alleged killing of 16 soldiers on Saturday morning by armed bandits and 30 injured in an ambush around Shimfida in Jibia local government area of Katsina. A few days ago in Kaduna, kidnappers had allegedly abducted over six persons including a policewoman. Besides, Kukum Daji village of Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State was allegedly attacked on Sunday night by gunmen with 21 persons killed, while 28 others sustained various degrees of injury. Recall that President Buhari had on June 18 this year, warned heads of the security agencies against any further escalation of the security situation in the country, telling them that their “best is not good enough”.The President, who said that he would not accept any further escalation of the current situation as no one among them was forced on him, added that it was left for the heads security agencies to live up to expectations. He also underscored the need for them to take into consideration the “wider implication of the gradual descent of the security of the country” and called for “immediate reversal of the current trend” and “misfortunes in all their dimensions”.
The National Security Adviser, Major General Babagana Monguno (retired), who briefed State House correspondents on the outcome of the security meeting, in the company of AVM Mohammed Sani Usman, Director of Defense Intelligence (DDI), and Alhaji Yusuf Magaji Bichi, Director-General of the Department of State Security (DSS). Monguno, disclosed that President Buhari was “unhappy and concerned” over the current security situation. He said the President also told heads of the security agencies that his administration came to power on the promise to tackle the security challenge, revive the economy, and deal with the scourge of corruption, adding that the pursuit of economic growth and the war on corruption would be an “exercise in futility” without security. Munguno, who said the President was also disturbed by lack of synergy among the security agencies, called the Governors of North West and Niger State for a meeting on the current security challenge.
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