From Aidoghie Paulinus, Abuja
The immediate past Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Army, Hon. Abdulrazak Namdas, has hailed the appointment of service chiefs by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In a brief chat with journalists in Abuja, Namdas said the new service chiefs were square pegs in square holes.
“In my view, the President made an excellent selection of officers that can help him fight insecurity in Nigeria. As the Chairman, House Committee, I got to know the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen C.G. Musa and the Chief of Army Staff, Maj. Gen T.A. Lagbaja. They have held command positions and they are very respected in the Nigerian Army. I have been told that the two other service chiefs are thorough professionals.
“When you add Mallam Nuhu Ribadu as National Security Adviser, I believe they will help the President achieve the desired results. As far as I am concerned, these men are square pegs in square holes,” Namdas said.
On the appropriateness of Ribadu’s appointment as NSA, Namdas said the choice of a police officer as National Security Adviser is not new.
He expressed confidence in the ability of the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to effectively coordinate the country’s security agencies.
“From the Adamawa State where I come from, we produced the former Inspector-General of Police, Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta who was NSA to Gen Ibrahim Babangida. It is good to give other security agencies the opportunity to showcase their capacity.
“As you know, Nuhu Ribadu, was the pioneer chairman of EFCC and from the scratch, he designed the agency to what it still looks like today. And with the close relationship he has with the C-in-C, he will enjoy huge political will to implement whatever ideas he has. With the combination of the new service chiefs and NSA, I can assure you that we will see positive results by ourselves,” Namdas stated.
Speaking further, Namdas listed what he considered as good results from the new national security team.
“Nigerians crave a peaceful environment to live and work. For example, a famer in the Northwest who cannot go to his farm or sleep well at home without unknown gunmen asking for tax to farm, simply wants the restoration of peace and stability. These new appointees will certainly benefit from the political will of a president who promised to hit the ground running and he has done exactly this.
“I see the new service chiefs and NSA being empowered in a manner that they will be able to get the desired results which is mainly people being protected from kidnappers, unknown gunmen and dealing with Boko Haram,” the ex-lawmaker added.