The President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Bola Tinubu, will meet his newly appointed service chiefs this week and decorate them with new ranks.
It was also gathered that the president will hold a crucial closed-door meeting with the top military officers over a wide range of security issues.
The Den reports that new service chiefs were appointed on Friday after the former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, and two others were relieved of their appointment.
Musa was replaced by Lt-Gen Olufemi Oluyede, who, until the new appointment, was Chief of Army Staff.
While Major-General Waidi Shaibu was named as the new Chief of Army Staff, Air Vice Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke and Rear Admiral Idi Abbas were appointed the new Chief of Air Staff and the new Chief of Naval Staff, respectively.
The Chief of Defence Intelligence, Major-General E.A.P Undiendeye, retained his position.
However, presidential sources told our correspondent on Sunday that the service chiefs would be in the Presidential Villa any moment from now.
Oluyede is expected to be promoted to the rank of General (four-star) while Shaibu, Aneke and Abbas will be promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General, Vice Admiral and Air Marshal, respectively.
“Of course, they will be in Villa any moment from now for decoration for the new rank, but I don’t know the specific time and day when such will happen,” the source confided in our correspondent.
Similarly, military sources also told the Den that the former service chiefs have briefed the President and are ready to hand over to their respective successors.
The sources added that the president would go into a crucial meeting with the new top officers over issues that border on national security and other crucial matters of concern.
Meanwhile, the former top military officers have been marked to receive some juicy perks after they formally exit the office.
This was contained in the Harmonised Terms and Conditions of Service for Officers and Enlisted Personnel in the Nigerian Armed Forces, signed by President Tinubu on December 14, 2024.
The document stated that the service chiefs are entitled to substantial retirement packages upon disengagement.
Those entitled to perks include the former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Musa; former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, and former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.
They are entitled to bulletproof vehicles, domestic aides and lifetime medical care.
Beyond the vehicles, the package includes five domestic aides — two service cooks, two stewards, and one civilian gardener — along with an aide-de-camp or security officer, and a personal assistant or special assistant.
They will also retain three service drivers, a service orderly, and a standard guard unit comprising nine soldiers.
The benefits also cover free medical treatment both in Nigeria and abroad.
