The House of Representatives on Thursday confirmed the appointment of Olufemi Oluyede as the Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
While the constitution does not make provision for confirmation of appointments by the House of Representatives, the lawmakers adopted a report of its ad–hoc committee on the confirmation/screening of the Acting Chief of Army Staff and confirmed the appointment of Lieutenant General Oluyede as the Chief of Army Staff.
Chairman of the committee Babajimi Benson in presenting the report, said Lt. Gen. Oluyede had satisfied all requirements.
President Bola Tinubu appointed Oluyede in an acting capacity in October following former army chief Taoreed Lagbaja’s illness.
Lagbaja later died on 5 November and has since been buried.
‘Privileged Opportunity’
The president thereafter wrote to the National Assembly, seeking Oluyede’s confirmation as the substantive army chief, and described him as one committed to the security of the country.
On Wednesday, Oluyede appeared before the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Defence and Army and promised to resolve the country’s security challenges if his appointment is confirmed.
Accompanied by top military officials and the Chief of Defence Staff Christopher Musa, Oluyede told the lawmakers he was “honoured this evening to be considered worthy to play a part in these efforts [to fight insecurity) and I look forward to contributing my utmost best by working with the National Assembly and other stakeholders in bringing lasting peace to the length and breadth of our dear country Nigeria”.
“In the past five years or thereabout, I have operated at the senior operational and management levels of the Nigerian Army and I have somewhat been part of the running of the service in its entirety,” he said.
“Thus, I cannot completely distance myself from the successes or setbacks of our great army in the past couple of years. However, I see my nomination as the Chief of Army Staff as a privileged opportunity to be in the driver’s seat and bring about more positive changes to the Nigerian Army to enable it to fulfil its constitutional responsibilities.
“Thus, if confirmed by this joint committee and given the common mandate to lead the Nigerian Army during this period, I promise to do my best to justify the confidence imposed in me by the appointing authority which is His Excellency Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the confirming authority which is you members of the National Assembly and the generality of Nigerians.”
