DHQ opposes service chiefs’ confirmation by N/Assembly

The Defence Headquarters yesterday opposed proposal for the confirmation of newly appointed service chiefs by the National Assembly.

Speaking at a public hearing organized by the House of Representatives committee on defence, a representative of the Defence Headquarters, AVM Ibrahim Shafi, said the current provision in Section 18 of the Armed Forces Act, which subjects the service chiefs’ appointments to National Assembly confirmation, is in conflict with Section 218 of the constitution.

“Our position is that the entire Section 18 should be deleted. What we’re saying is that the section is in direct collision course and conflict with Section 218 of the constitution, which empowers the president to appoint the service chiefs without any proviso for National Assembly confirmation.

“But the Armed Forces Act provides otherwise and it doesn’t provide for the appointment of the CDS. So, all the amendments in Section 18, in our view, are unnecessary. The simple thing to do is to delete the entire section,” he told the panel chaired by Mukhtar Aliyu Betara (APC, Borno).

AVM Shafi also said although they would prefer an upward review of the retirement age of military personnel from what currently obtains in the public service; they would abide by whatever decision taken.

Declaring the hearing open, Speaker Yakubu Dogara called for proper equipping, staffing and training of men of the Nigerian security agencies, saying current happenings made it necessary to re-examine the architecture of policing in Nigeria to make it more effective.