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Reps constitute committee to screen service chiefs

The House of Representatives on Tuesday set up a committee comprising all the principal officers of the House and others to screen the newly appointed service chiefs.

The Speaker, Hon Tajudeen Abbas announced this at the Plenary.

According to him, the principal officers include; Bejamin Kalu, Deputy Speaker, Julius Ihonvbere, majority leader; Abdullahi Halims, deputy majority leader; Bello Kumo, chief whip; Adewunmi Onanuga, deputy chief whip; Kingsley Chinda, minority leader; Ali Madaki, deputy minority leader, Ali Isa, minority whip; and George Ebizimawo, deputy minority whip.

The committee is to be chaired by Babajimi Benson, a lawmaker (Lagos-APC) a former chairman of the House Committee on Defence.

Usually, service chiefs are screened by the House of Representatives joint Committees on Defence, Amy, Navy and Air Force.

Apparently, Abbas picked the principal officers to screen the service chiefs because the house is yet to constitute the various standing committees.

Last Thursday, Abbas read a letter from President Bola Tinub, seeking the confirmation of the appointment of the service chiefs.

The service chiefs appointed by Tinubu are Christopher Musa, chief of defence staff; Taoreed Lagbaja, chief of army staff; Emmanuel Ogalla, chief of naval staff; and Hassan Abubakar, chief of air staff.

In the letter, Tinubu said the current security situation in the country required concerted efforts of both the legislature and the executive “to ensure a well-protected nation.

“This informed the review of our defence architecture and appointment of new leaders to work in synergy with one another to achieve the level of optimal performance expected of the military,” the president said.

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