The Army Council has approved the promotion of 105 senior officers of the Nigerian Army to the next ranks, in what authorities described as a strategic move to strengthen national defence leadership.
According to a statement issued on Friday by the Acting Director, Army Public Relations, Lt.-Col. Appolonia Anele, the promotion exercise, approved on Nov. 27, elevated 28 Brigadier Generals to Major General, while 77 Colonels were promoted to the rank of Brigadier General.
Among those promoted to Major General are Brig.-Gen. O. Adegbe of the Defence Intelligence Agency; Brig.-Gen. S.M. Uba, Director of Defence Information; Brig.-Gen. R.E. Hedima, Acting Chief of Military Intelligence (Army); and Brig.-Gen. R.T. Utsaha, Deputy Director of Defence Operations.
Others include Brig.-Gen. A.M. Umar, Commandant of the Warrant Officer Academy; Brig.-Gen. S. Sulaiman, Deputy Military Secretary (Army); Brig.-Gen. I.O. Bassey, Director, Nigerian Army Operations Centre; and Brig.-Gen. C.A. Ekeator of the Nigerian Army School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering.
Also elevated are Brig.-Gen. S.Y. Yakasai, Acting Director of Procurement, Office of the Chief of Army Staff; Brig.-Gen. W.L. Nzidee of the Department of Army Logistics; Brig.-Gen. S.A. Emmanuel of the Nigerian Army Signals; Brig.-Gen. S.S. Tilawan, Acting Commander, Sector 3 Joint Task Force North-East (Operation Hadin Kai); Brig.-Gen. M.O. Agi of the Nigerian Defence Academy; and Brig.-Gen. I.M. Abbas, Commander, 34 Brigade. Brig.-Gen. Z.A. Saidu was promoted posthumously.
Those promoted from Colonel to Brigadier General include Col. Y. Ibrahim of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja; Col. N.N. Gambo of the Department of Civil-Military Affairs; and Col. A. Saidu of the Army Finance Corps.
Others are Col. A. Ali of Army Headquarters Garrison; Col. I. Waziri, Office of the Chief of Defence Staff; Col. M.M. Sani of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji; Col. A.A. Alkali of the Nigerian Army Dog Centre; and Col. A.O. Ndah of the Department of Army Training.
Additional officers promoted include Col. I.B. Sheriff of Headquarters 9 Brigade; Col. K.R. Apata of the Provost Group; Col. M.K. Akpuogwu of Operation Whirl Stroke; Col. P.U. Nnaji of the Army Operations Monitoring Support Team; Col. M.T. Nagudu of the Nigerian Army Armour School; and Col. K.O. Bukoye, Commander, 401 Special Forces Brigade.
Also promoted are senior officers from the Nigerian Army Medical Corps and various reference hospitals, including Cols. O. Adole, J.A. Ikagba, D.C. Ibeh, G.S. Chohwore, O.G. Okoye, and Col. Y.K. Audu of Operation Hadin Kai, among others.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Waidi Shaibu, congratulated the newly promoted officers and urged them to justify the confidence reposed in them. He charged them to demonstrate exemplary leadership, embrace innovation and deliver decisive responses to emerging security challenges.
Shaibu reminded the officers of their oath to defend Nigeria’s territorial integrity, stressing that their loyalty to the Constitution must remain absolute and unwavering.
