A former Chief of Army Staff, COAS, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai (Retd.), has been deployed to Benin Republic, .
Also, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin (Retd.), a former Chief of Defence Staff, CDS, has been appointed the Head of Mission to Cameroon.
At a brief ceremony in Abuja, on Tuesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, presented letters of credence to the former Service Chiefs.
This was disclosed by Mr. Kimiebi Ebienfa, the Information Officer of the Ministry.
He said: “The Honourable Minister of Foreign Affairs, H. E. Geoffrey Onyeama, today, 22 June 2021, presented Letters of Credence to the Ambassador-Designate of Nigeria to the Republic of Cameroon, General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin (Retired), and the Ambassador-Designate of Nigeria to the Republic of Benin, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusufu Buratai (Retired).
“The Minister of Foreign Affairs during the brief ceremony congratulated the immediate past Service Chiefs on their appointment by Mr. President, and called on them to deploy their wealth of experience to promote Nigeria’s interest during their tour of duty in countries of accreditation.”
The statement was however, silent on the postings of the other immediate-past Service Chiefs, Vice Admiral Ibok-Ette Ibas (Retired), former Chief of Naval Staff; Air Vice Marshal Sadique Abubakar (Retired), former Chief of Air Staff; and and Air Vice Marshal Muhammad S. Usman (Retd.), former Chief of Defence Intelligence.
Recall, that President Muhammadu Buhari had on February 4, 2021, appointed the former Service Chiefs as Non-Career Ambassadors, which received backlash from several quarters, due to their perceived failed leadership as Security Chiefs.
More news later…