Reps screen Service Chiefs

Jonas Ezieke, Abuja

An Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives on the Screening of Service Chief Nominees, has screened the Chief of Defence Staff CDS Major General Christopher Musa, the Chief of Army Staff Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogala and Chief of Air Staff Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar.

The Chairman of the Ad-hoc Committee Hon Babajimi Benson, said the exercise is a necessary constitutional provision in the process of institutionalizing and legitimizing the appointment of persons for the positions of Service Chiefs of the Armed Forces of country.

Benson stated that the House take this screening excercise seriously and always do it meticulously in accordance with its extant rules.

This according to the lawmaker was because for more than sixteen years, Nigeria has witnessed diverse and unprecedented level 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 one 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” he said..

The Committee helsman observed that new security threats are emerging across the globe, where wars are not only fought on the land, sea and air, but also in the 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 emphasize the need for a full-fledged Defence Space Force to adequately handle potential threats from the cyber space and provide intelligence support to other services.

He assured the nominees of the House 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, 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 therefore urged the Service Chief nominees to cooperate with the National Assembly while performing their constitutional duties of ensuring a peaceful, secure and prosperous country for all Nigerians.

In their separate remarks the nominees comprising of the Chief of Defence Staff CDS Major-General Christopher Musa, Chief of Army Staff Major-General Toareed Lagbaja, Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogala and Chief of Air Staff Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar pledged loyalty to the nation and expressed their determination to transform the nation’s armed forces into a world class professional body to safeguard the country.