President Mohammadu Buhari has denied reports that he has approved the replacement of two Service Chiefs; Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Gabriel Olonisakin, and the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas.
Senior Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, on Monday published this position on his Facebook page, asserting that none of the Service Chiefs has been sacked as widely speculated.
“It is necessary to respond to a fictive story published in today’s edition of New Telegraph Newspaper, to the effect that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the replacement of Chief of Defence Staff, General Gabriel Olonisakin, and Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, as Service Chiefs.
“The newspaper, rather than rush to print an unsubstantiated story, would have done better to confirm the information at its disposal, from many available military and government information channels. It then would have avoided the self-inflicted wound of publishing a one-legged story that is not completely true, and damaging its brand in the process.”
Adesina stated that the Chief of Defence Staff is rather due for retirement next week, and his position is yet to be filled.
“Gen Olonisakin is due to retire from the Army next week, having satisfied the official number of years in service. He is yet to be replaced. But the Chief of Naval Staff has a short while more, and President Buhari could, therefore, not have approved his replacement yet.”
Adesina reiterated that the federal government is committed to providing information to the public through the media in order to enhance public transparency and accountability.
“This administration has repeatedly pledged commitment to transparency and accountability, and one of the hallmarks of that is making information available to the media.”
culled from Newsguru
