A former Provost Marshal of the Nigeria Army, Brig. General Don Idada Ikponmwen, on Saturday, faulted the move by President Muhammadu Buhari to have the newly appointed service chiefs screened and confirmed by the upper chamber (Senate) of the National Assembly.
Ikponmwen, a lawyer and former Director, Legal Services in the Nigeria Army, said the Senate should have no business screening and confirming the service chiefs as that would amount to politicising appointments, promotions and postings in the Armed Forces.
In an exclusive interview with Sunday Telegraph, the retired military officer warned that any attempt to politicize the Nigeria Armed Forces, could pose a serious threat to the security of the nation.
“The point has to be made that the Command and control of the Armed Forces must not be allowed to be compromised on the altar of politics. This compromise would inevitably arise when the Command of the Armed Forces, particularly in terms of appointment, becomes an issue for the National Assembly,” he said.
The current attempt to subject the appointment of service chiefs to the approval of the Senate, Ikponmwen said, subtracts from the powers granted the President by the 1999 Constitution.
According to him, the Constitution is unambiguous on the issue, hence, it specified, clearly, where the President ought to consult or submit for screening or confirmation of appointments. Ikpomnwen argued that those who craved for the screening of security chiefs by the legislators were wrongly equating their appointment with those of the minsters and other top government functionaries whom the constitution clearly specified should be screened and approved by the parliament.
He said that Section 130(1) of the Nigerian Constitution shows the nature of the Nigerian President who cannot be treated like a mere figure head but one that is ‘the Head of State, the Chief Executive of the Federation and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation.’
He said that the fact that the President was elected from all the constituencies of the Federation and vested with grassroots support across the country, makes him greater than the mandate of all legislators put together. “Sections 133 and 134 of the Constitution explain the power exercisable by the President and Commander- In-Chief.
Section 218(1) says: The Power of the President as the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall include power to determine the operational use of the Armed Forces of the Federation.
“The provision that is directly relevant to the question of appointment of the Service Chiefs is Section 218(2) which says: “The power conferred on the President by subsection (1) of this section shall include power to appoint the Chief of Defence Staff, the Chief of Army Staff, the Chief of Naval Staff, the Chief of Air Staff and Heads of any other branches of the Armed Forces of the Federation as may be established by an Act of the National Assembly,” he said.
When reminded of a Federal High Court judgement that stripped the President of exclusive powers in the appointment of service chiefs, Ikpomnwen expressed disappointment with the ruling of the court and maintained that it was wrong for the court to have agreed with the argument “The declaration to the effect that the President cannot appoint his Service Chiefs without the confirmation of the Senate is manifestly wrong and dangerous for our nation as it will, inevitably, lead to negation of discipline, coherence in command and control of the Armed Forces which are predicated upon the existence of a unified Command.
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