House of reps to screen service chiefs on Monday

The house of representatives will screen the recently appointed service chiefs on Monday.

The service chiefs — 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 — will be screened by the principal officers of the green chamber.

The principal officers include 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 chaired by Babajimi Benson, a lawmaker from Lagos and former chairman of the defence committee.

Usually, service chiefs are screened by the house of representatives joint committees on defence, army, navy and airforce.

However, Tajudeen Abbas, speaker of the house, announced the principal officers to screen the service chiefs because the house is yet to constitute the various standing committees.

President Bola Tinubu had, in a letter last week, asked the lawmakers to confirm the appointment of the service chiefs. 

In the letter, Tinubu said the current security situation in the country requires 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 had said.

The senate confirmed the appointment of the service chiefs on Thursday.