SERVICE CHIEFS APPOINTMENT:25 GENERALS GIVEN SIX WEEKS TO RETIRE

No fewer than 25 Generals, who were affected by the appointment of their juniors as service chiefs last Tuesday by President Muhammadu Buhari have been given six weeks to voluntarily retire from the Nigerian Armed Forces.
The immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Kenneth Minimah, disclosed this yesterday while handing over to his successor, Major General Tukur Buratai at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
By army tradition, the affected Generals cannot serve under a junior officer to them and must mandatorily go home.
It was a moment of stock-taking and sober reflection as Lt. Gen. Minimah, handed over the mantle of leadership to Maj. Gen. Buratai.
In his speech, Minimah, who said that some very senior unnamed officers have been given notices of retirement, urged those affected by the development to take the notifications for retirement in good faith.
He joked that while the affected officers were given six weeks’ notice to proceed on retirement, the retirements of the former service chiefs were simply relayed to them on the radio.
While Minimah used the occasion to “showcase his achievements” while in office, Buratai, conscious of the arduous task that lies ahead of him, maintained a calm mien, listening to his predecessor with rapt attention reeling out his accomplishments..