As part of its strategic response to the country’s security difficulties, the Senate will screen the immediate former Chief of Defense Staff (CDS), General Christopher Gwabin Musa (rtrd), as the new Minister of Defense today, as part of its strategic approach to the country’s security challenges.
Senate Leader Opeyemi Bamidele revealed this in a statement released by his Directorate on Media and Public Affairs.
It was reported that Musa’s nomination followed the decision of previous Minister of Defense, Alhaji Mohammed Badaru to resign from his job owing to what he ascribed to health difficulties.
As a result, in a letter transmitted to Senate President Godswill Akpabio on Tuesday, President Bola Tinubu nominated the former defense chief as the new Minister of Defense.
Continuing, Bamidele noted that the Senate “is already in possession of the request of the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu to screen his defense minister nominee.”
He added that the letter “will be read on the floor of the Senate on Wednesday. Subsequently, it will immediately proceed to the screening of the nominee consistent with Section 147 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended)”.
“We cannot delay such a request especially at this crucial time in the history of our fatherland. We are treating the request as a matter that directly touches the core interest of our nation so that the federal government can sustain its campaigns against bandits, extremists, terrorists and other forces undermining our national security.
“Since the president has declared a State of emergency on national security, both the Presidency and National Assembly must work hand in hand to ensure peace, stability and good government.
“The screening of the defense minister nominee is one of the ways to demonstrate such a synergy purely in the national interest.”
