Army dismisses rumours of leadership vacuum, confirms COAS on leave

The Nigerian Army management has dismissed insinuations of a leadership vacuum in the Force.

The Director of Army Public Relations, Maj.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, made the clarification in a statement on Saturday in Abuja.

He was reacting to what he described as “social media stories, rumours, and innuendoes” about happenings in the Nigerian army.

He said while some of the stories were laughable and deserve no further reference, others had bordered on pure mischief calculated to cause panic and confusion within the rank and file as well as the general public.

The spokesman said: “Specifically, many insinuations about personnel postings, promotions, and even training activities have been raised vis-a-vis the official leave of the Chief of Army Staff (COAS).

“There have even been insinuations that there is a leadership vacuum, with officers confused about what to do.

“Nothing can be farther from the truth.

“To be very clear, the Nigerian Army is a highly structured establishment with well-laid-out procedures and processes for dealing with different circumstances.

“Before proceeding on leave, necessary protocols were put in place for the Chief of Policy and Plans (Army), Maj.-Gen. Abdulsalami Ibrahim, to act on behalf of the COAS, while he is away.

“This is not peculiar to the army as there have been instances where unforeseen human frailty kept service chiefs away for about three months, and their Chiefs of Policy and Plans held sway in their absence.”

Nwachukwu insisted that claims of a leadership vacuum in the army presently were mere speculation, saying all routine and scheduled activities of the service were on course.

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