President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has assented to law fat retirement allowances for the outgoing Chief of Defence Staff and other eased service chiefs on Friday. The new Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service (HTACOS) 2024, signed by the president and presented to Sunday LEADERSHIP, stipulates that each retired chief gets a bulletproof SUV and a Prado Jeep (equivalent), to be serviced by their respective Services and replaced after four years.
Retired officers are also given $20,000 every year for medical treatment, five local attendants, one security officer, nine guards, three service drivers, and other benefits. They are to be kept in their uniforms, personal arms, and also receive free medical treatment in Nigeria and outside.
In the fresh appointments, General Olufemi Oluyede takes over as Chief of Defence Staff from General Christopher Musa. Major-General W. Shaibu is Chief of Army Staff, Air Vice Marshal S. K. Aneke is Chief of Air Staff, and Rear Admiral I. Abbas is Chief of Naval Staff. Major-General E. A. P. Undiendeye continues as Chief of Defence Intelligence.
Those who were removed from power include General Musa, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla, and Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar.
HTACOS 2024 also prescribes the same retirement package to other senior officers. Lieutenant-Generals shall get one Toyota Hilux and one Land Cruiser, domestic attendants, and medical cover worth $20,000 a year. Major-Generals and Brigadier-Generals shall be issued one Land Cruiser, domestic attendants, and $15,000 medical cover every year, while one-star officers shall be issued a Toyota Camry and $10,000 medical cover.
The reforms will also result in a blanket retirement in the armed forces because officers senior to the new chiefs are normally invited to retire. At least more than 60 generals will retire, considering the fact that the new Chief of the Army is from Course 41 of the Nigerian Defence Academy.
The Senate Defence, Army, and Navy Committee will likely screen the new appointees behind closed doors in the next few days.
Responding to the shake-up, former head of the Special Presidential Investigative Panel Chief Okoi Obono-Obla described the action as a “strategic realignment” by the president to reinvigorate the military and enhance national security.
The reshuffle is a step by Tinubu to stabilize Nigeria’s geopolitical environment and ensure a more vibrant response to insecurity, he added, describing it as “a canny mastery of the push and pull of governance.”
