What Buhari Must Do To Service Chiefs – Ebonyi PDP

The Ebonyi chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Nigeria’s main opposition party, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to heed to the cry of the masses and relive the service chiefs of their duties.

Naija News reports that the Chairman of the Ebonyi PDP, Onyekachi Nwebonyi gave the advice in Abakaliki Tuesday, where he noted that collective will of the people should form part of President Buhari’s prerogative.

The Ebonyi PDP Chairman, however, pointed out that the service chiefs have outlived their years of service and should be sacked.

His words: “Senate’s call for the resignation or sack of the service chiefs by the president represents the collective will of Nigerians. It is obvious that since the appointment of the present service chiefs insecurity and insurgency have been escalating in the country. The Northwest has been witnessing unprecedented attacks by insurgents, and elsewhere in the country, Fulani herdsmen have been unleashing mayhem on innocent Nigerians unchecked. Kidnapping has taken more sophisticated dimensions not to talk of Boko Haram which apparently has become more powerful than the government. All these obtain because the security and defence architecture of the country is completely out of kilter.

“The resolution of the senate for the sack of the service chiefs is, therefore, a clarion call that ought to be heeded by the presidency, especially now that the Magu case has turned out to exonerate the senate. The Magu Gate is just one facet of the necessity for their ouster if they can’t voluntarily resign. The law stipulates 35 years of service for retirement if age permits, but unfortunately, all the service chiefs have put in more than 38 years in service.

“It is unfortunate however to hear the presidency reject that call citing prerogative of the president as reason. What then is the prerogative of the president; the collective will of the people or the personal idiosyncrasies of the president? The prerogative of the president, methinks, should hinge on exigency and expediency. A position which ineptitude, indignation, and contradiction to the law define, what is the presidency’s rationale to hold on to it?

“In as much as I do not want to criticize Mr President, he should understand that his prerogatives have always been anti-people. It is on record that the chief of army staff enrolled into the service in 1981, 39 years ago, the chief of defence staff, chief of air staff, and chief of naval staff all enrolled in 1979, 41 years ago. What then is the president’s prerogative?

“With candour and every respect to the office and person of the president, I vehemently posit that the service chiefs should retire or be retired compulsorily. I, therefore, call on President Buhari to swallow his pride and heed the resolution of the senate,” he said.