President Muhammadu Buhari has formally requested the Senate to confirm the appointment of Major General Farouk Yahaya as the new Chief of Army Staff, (COAS).
The request was contained in a letter addressed to the Senate President, Dr. Ahmad Lawan, and read on the floor of the chamber as plenary resumed after a week break.
President Buhari in the letter said, ”General Yahaya’s appointment was in compliance with the provisions of Section 18 subsection 1 of the Armed Forces Act 2004.”
The letter reads in part: “In compliance with the provisions of section 18(1) of the Armed Forces Act Cap A20 laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, I hereby forward for confirmation by the Senate, the appointment of Major General Farouk Yahaya as the Chief of Army Staff of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“His CV is herewith attached. It is my hope that the Senate will consider and confirm the nominee in the usual expeditious manner.”
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President Buhari had about a week ago, appointed the nominee following the demise of the immediate past Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Ibrahim Attahiru, who died in a plane crash along with 10 other senior military officers near the Kaduna International Airport.
Until his new appointment, General Yahaya was the General Officer Commanding 1 Division of the Nigerian Army and the incumbent Theatre Commander of the Counter-terrorism Counter Insurgency military outfit in the North East, code-named Operation HADIN KAI.