The Senate on Wednesday confirmed Major General Waheedi Shaibu as Nigeria’s new Chief of Army Staff, instructing him to “take a bow” and immediately assume duty.
Shaibu’s confirmation came less than an hour after lawmakers approved General Olufemi Oluyede as the Chief of Defence Staff, officially kicking off the screening of President Bola Tinubu’s newly appointed service chiefs.
The confirmation session, held at the National Assembly complex in Abuja, took place amid heightened security, as senators alternated between open and closed-door deliberations to assess the nominees.
Presiding over the exercise, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the screening as a constitutional duty aimed at ensuring that only capable and patriotic officers are entrusted with the nation’s defence.
Akpabio noted, “There is no need to ask them too many questions because we will be having a closed-door session with them.”
Expressing support for the nominee, Senator Isah Jubrin (Kogi East) praised Shaibu’s professionalism and humility, vouching for his competence.
“The officer is well known to me. I have known him for 30 years. Shaibu is humble and takes his job very seriously. I want to believe that is an asset,” he said.
“I believe he has what it takes to move Nigeria out of the challenges the country is experiencing today,” he added.
The confirmation of both Shaibu and Oluyede underscores the Senate’s commitment to expedite the approval of President Tinubu’s service chiefs, part of ongoing efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s security leadership and address pressing national security challenges.
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