Senate Committee Screens Former Service Chiefs For Ambassadorial Positions

The immediate former Service Chiefs are currently at the National Assembly for their screening as ambassadorial nominees.

They are being screened by the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The committee which is led by Senator Mohammed Bulkachuwa held a closed-session before the service chiefs were ushered into the room for the commencement of the screening.

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The former Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin was the first to be screened. He spoke on insecurity in the country and warned that the next warfare and crisis in the country will be in the forests.

He explained that research which he conducted on forests three years ago shows that Nigeria has over 1,000 forest reserves and there is an urgent need to man and protect the forests which have become hideouts for criminals.

The Former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai during his screening also spoke concerning the security crisis in the country.

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He lamented that the terrorists have permeated the society and won the communities to their side.

According to him, the solution to the security crisis in the country is a multi-pronged approach and military warfare alone is not the solution.

He added that there are so many ungovernable spaces in the country with no government presence. The government he says must provide infrastructure in these communities to win the people and it will take another twenty years to resolve this crisis.

The Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, on Thursday, February 4 announced that President Buhari has nominated the immediate service chiefs for the position of ambassadors.

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They are former Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, the former Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, and the former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas.

Others are former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, and the former Chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Usman.