The new Service Chiefs on Tuesday vowed to do everything to make Nigeria safer.
They spoke during their confirmation by the National Assembly.
They are Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Lucky Irabor; Chief of Army Staff, Major General Ibrahim Attahiru; Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Auwal Gambo; and Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshall Isiaka Amao.
President Muhammadu Buhari sent their names to the National Assembly on January 27.
All four of them appeared for screening before the Senate’s Joint Committee on Defence, Army, Navy and Air Force chaired by Senator Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko.
Irabor said President Buhari’s mandate was very clear to him and his colleagues, hence they would deliver on the core mandate.
“I have had extensive experience as a commissioned officer of the Nigerian Army. I have had experiences in both operational and of course instructional and field experiences and I hope as we interact together you will see more of what we could deliver in a manner Nigerians will be happy,” Irabor said.
Attahiru assured the panel that if confirmed, he would provide the right leadership for the Nigerian Army.
Gambo said his vision was to leverage all factors to re-energise the Nigerian Navy in the fulfilment of national security objectives.
On his part, the CAS-nominee AVM Amao promised not to let the country down.
“I want to promise that I will not let the Nigerian people down and I will do my best with the coordination of my colleagues to ensure that the security situation in the country is a thing of the past,” Amoo said.
The joint committee later went into a closed-door session to continue the screening.
Also yesterday, the House of Representatives confirmed the appointments of the four service chiefs.
The confirmation followed their screening last Wednesday by an ad-hoc committee.
Also on Tuesday, the Senate confirmed the immediate past Service Chiefs as Non-Career Ambassadors-designate.
They are former Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Tukur Yusuf Buratai; former Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin; former Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas; former Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar and former Chief of Defence Intelligence, Air Vice Marshall Muhammad Usman.
The confirmation followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired by Senator Adamu Mohammad Bulkachuwa.
He acknowledged that the Committee received petitions against their nominations as Non-Career Ambassadors “but the petitions were dismissed.”
Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, had demanded an explanation for the dismissal of the petition, particularly against the backdrop of the Senate resolutions in the past calling for their removal as Service Chiefs.
But Senate President Ahmed Lawan explained that the resolutions were in no way related to President Muhammadu Buhari’s request for the Senate to confirm them as Ambassadors-Designate, saying, “these are two separate roles.”
By Sanni Onogu and Tony Akowe