Olonisakin continues in office as CDS after extension of tenure

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Abayomi Olonisakin, who was rumoured to have been retired by the Federal Government in December, on Tuesday, resumed office, following the one year extension approved for him by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The senior officer was scheduled to retire from service by December 20, 2016 after 35 years in service, but with about two weeks left to go, some media published that he had been retired and asked to vacate office.

Before President Buhari ordered the extension by one year last December, the CDS was said to have started the evacuation of his personal belongings from the office.

“He had no inkling that the tenure would be extended even though the president has the prerogative to decide on such extension as provided for in Law,” a source said.

Following the publication of the Chief of Defence Staff  and the Chief of Naval Staff removal  last December, Defence Minister, Mansur Dan Ali, had issued a statement debunking reports that Olonisakin, had been retired and that his position had been handed over to the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.

The minister added that, “the appointment and replacement of service chiefs is a prerogative of the office of the President and Commander in Chief.”

Informed military sources disclosed to the Nigerian Tribune that the struggle for who occupied the position of the CDS, might have helped in swaying the president to extend the tenure.

According to the source, it would have been difficult to get the cooperation and unity in which the service chiefs were working if the president had not done the needful by extending the tenue of the CDS.

“I can tell you this is the best thing to happen to the military to maintain stability,” the source added.