BY EDMOND ODOK – Just hours after being decorated with his new rank by President Bola Tinubu, alongside other Service Chiefs, the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, has okayed massive postings and appointments within the Nigerian Army.
A statement by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Lieutenant-Colonel Appolonia Anele, which confirmed the development on Thursday, said the senior officers are to man key Command, Staff, and Instructional positions across formations, units, and training institutions of the Nigerian Army.
The statement described the appointments as a decisive move to reinvigorate leadership, strengthen command structures, and reposition the Nigerian Army for enhanced operational effectiveness.
Accordingly, the COAS has charged the newly appointed senior officers to bring their wealth of operational experience, administrative acumen, and strategic foresight to bear in building a disciplined and combat-ready army capable of decisively confronting contemporary and emerging security challenges across the country.
Additionally, he urged them to sustain the current operational momentum, strengthen interagency collaboration, and remain unwavering in upholding the Nigerian Army’s core ethos of loyalty, selfless service, integrity, and excellence.
The Full List Of Appointees
The newly appointed senior officers are Major General Bamidele Alabi, redeployed to Army Headquarters Department of Policy and Plans and appointed Chief of Policy and Plans (Army); Major General Jamal Abdulsalam, formerly Chief of Special Services and Programmes at Army Headquarters proceeds to Defence Headquarters Department of Operations as Chief of Defence Operations; and Major General Peter Mala moves from Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) to Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command Nigerian Army (TRADOC) as Commander.
Similarly, Major General Samson Jiya, moves from Nigerian Army Heritage and Future Centre (NAHFC) to Defence Headquarters Department of Defence Accounts and Budget as Chief of Defence Accounts and Budget; Major General Mayirenso Saraso from NAHFC to Army Headquarters Department of Operations, as Chief of Operations (Army); Major General Isa Abdullahi from Defence Headquarters to Army Headquarters Department of Administration as Chief of Administration (Army); Major General Musa Etsu-Ndagi from Army Headquarters’ Department of Training to Army Headquarters’ Department of Civil-Military Affairs, as Chief of Civil-Military Affairs.
Other strategic appointments include, Major General Abubakar Haruna from NAHFC to Nigerian Army Training Centre (NATRAC) Kontagora as Commander; Major General Philip Ilodibia from Army Headquarters’ Department of Policy and Plans to Defence Space Administration as Chief of Defence Space Administration; Major General Godwin Mutkut, from Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) N’Djamena to Headquarters Infantry Corps Centre as Corps Commander Infantry; and Major General Umar Abubakar from the Ministry of Defence to Headquarters Nigerian Army Armour Corps as Commander Armour Corps.
The list also has Major General John Adeyemo moving from Nigerian Army School of Artillery (NASA) to Headquarters Nigerian Army Corps of Artillery as Corps Commander Artillery; Major General Mohammed Abdullahi from Nigerian Army Cyberwarfare Command to Headquarters Nigerian Army Signals as Corps Commander Signals; Major General Taofik Sidick redeployed from the NAHFC to Headquarters Nigerian Army Finance Corps as Chief of Accounts and Budget (Army); and Major General Abdullahi Ibrahim from NAHFC to Headquarters Nigerian Army Ordnance Corps as Corps Commander Ordnance.
The Redeployments also affected Major General Adeyinka Adereti who moves from Defence Headquarters to Headquarters Nigerian Army Electrical and Mechanical Engineers as Corps Commander; Major General Nansak Shagaya from Army Headquarters Department of Operations to Headquarters Nigerian Army Corps of Supply and Transport as Corps Commander Supply and Transport; and Brigadier General Yusha’u Ahmed appointed Acting Corps Commander Education.
The COAS also approved the appointment of Major General Oluyemi Olatoye from Headquarters 82 Division/Joint Task Force South East Operation UDO KA to the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna and appointed Commandant; Major General Emmanuel Mustapha from Defence Space Administration to Nigerian Army Signal School as Commandant; Major General Adamu Hassan from Nigerian Defence Section, Riyadh, to Nigerian Army School of Artillery as Commandant; and Brigadier General John Bulus from Headquarters Nigerian Army Finance Corps to Nigerian Army School of Finance and Accounts as Commandant.
Those appointed as Field Commanders include: Major General Saidu Audu from Army Headquarters Department of Training to Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF), N’Djamena, as Force Commander; Major General Warrah Idris from Defence Headquarters to Joint Task Force North West Operation FANSAN YAMMA as Commander; and Major General Oluremi Fadairo from Army Headquarters Department of Civil Military Affairs to 82 Division Nigerian Army, Enugu as General Officer Commanding (GOC) and Commander Joint Task Force South East Operation UDO KA.
Other appointments approved by the COAS include Major General Olatokumbo Bello as the Director Defence Media Operations at Defence Headquarters while Brigadier General Samaila Uba was redeployed from the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji to Defence Headquarters as Director Defence Information.
