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Political commentator Mahdi Shehu has criticised President Bola Tinubu over the promotion of his Aide-de-Camp (ADC), describing the move as a violation of military procedures and a threat to professionalism within the armed forces.
Shehu made the remarks in a post shared on his X account on Monday, where he accused the President of unilaterally promoting his ADC from the rank of colonel to brigadier general without following established military rules and global best practices.
According to him, the promotion was carried out against all laid down military procedures, against global practice and against common sense.
He added that it failed to consider the morale and career progression of other officers.
Shehu argued that the promotion has created an abnormal situation within the military hierarchy, as the ADC has now become senior to some officers who were previously ahead of him, including those who are older in service and even senior to him by several years.
“The implication of this toxically biased promotion is that the newly promoted ADC is now a mate to officers who were once his seniors and also many years senior to his course mates,” he wrote.
“This means throwing away loyalty to institutions in favour of loyalty to an individual.”
He also recalled that the same officer was promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel just last year without undergoing the required training.
He noting that, under normal circumstances, his next promotion to brigadier general should have been due in 2028.
By this promotion, Shehu said, the ADC has automatically become senior to all his course mates and even officers who passed out of the Nigerian Defence Academy in the same year he joined.
He described the development as institutional destruction.
Shehu warned that such actions could dampen the morale of officers and create long-term resentment within the military.
“This kind of biased and emotional promotion blunder will create permanent bitterness among officers and weaken discipline,” he said.
“This biased, avoidable emotional promotion blunder will not escape the attention of Military institutions that have regional and global linkages and jealously uphold ethics and standards.
“The action will reduce the rating of Military offices coming from Nigeria. If per adventure Tinubu wakes up in 2027 January and decide to promote the Same ADC to Major General and appoint him COAS (as 2027 elections comes closer and the need to have a “RELIABLE BLOOD” to do the “JOB”)
“It means sending over 8000 senior military officers across the Army, Navy and, Air Force into premature retirement because The ADC is either their course mate or their Junior.
“For the records, this toxic promotion, unilateral as it is, is an assault on professional, to common sense and to the psychology of those who chose military as a career. A STICH IN TIME SAVES NINE,” he wrote.
Tinubu’s ADC promotion violates military norms – Mahdi Shehu
