Following the appointment of new Service Chiefs by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Defence Headquarters has given top officers who are seniors to the newly appointed service chiefs till Monday July 3, to voluntarily retire from service.
The order, was contained in a memo dated June 26 and signed by Maj Gen Y. Yahaya on behalf of the Chief of Defence Staff.
According to the Defense HQ, senior officers of the new service heads must leave the military “in order to preserve and uphold the tenets of the military profession which values hierarchy and service discipline.”
Military custom dictates that when a junior officer is appointed as a service chief, senior officers who are appointed before him or her would retire. It is common knowledge that top military officers are unlikely to obey commands from their subordinates.
Those given the deadline to retire voluntarily include generals, brigadiers-general, air vice marshals, and rear admirals in the Nigerian Army, Air Force, and Nigerian Navy.
The memo reads: “It would be recalled that the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently appointed new CDS and Service Chiefs on 19 Jun 23.
“In order to preserve and uphold the tenets of the military profession which values hierarchy and service discipline, it is important that all officers whose officer cadet courses run seniority above that of the current Service Chiefs disengage from the Service.
“Consequently, I am directed to respectfully request services to direct all officers with seniority on commission above that of NDA Regular Course 39 to submit their applications for voluntary retirement from Service with immediate effect. I am to add that affected officers are to submit their applications to their respective Service Headquarters no later than Mon July 3, 2023.”