Military sets deadline for senior officers to retire in line with Service Chiefs appointment
The Nigerian military has issued a directive to officers who are senior to the newly appointed Service Chiefs, giving them until Monday to voluntarily retire from service.
This announcement was made by the Defence Headquarters in a statement signed by Maj-Gen. Y Yahaya on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff.
The impending retirement will have a significant impact on numerous major-generals, brigadiers-general, air vice marshals, and admirals within the Nigerian Army, Air Force, and Navy respectively.
The retirement of these high-ranking officers aligns with a longstanding military tradition of retiring officers who hold seniority over the service chiefs. The officers affected by this directive are those above the NDA Regular Course 39.
This mass retirement within the Nigerian Armed Forces is directly connected to the recent appointment of the Service Chiefs by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on June 19.
The Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Musa, belongs to the 38 Regular Course, while the Chief of Army Staff, Major General Taoreed Lagbaja, the Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, and the Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Hassan Abubakar, belong to the 39 Regular Course.
It should be noted that there are still senior officers from Course 37 and 38 who remain in active service. As per military tradition, senior officers are not expected to take orders from their juniors. The affected officers are required to submit their applications for voluntary retirement no later than Monday, July 3.
