Nigerian Army keeps mum over lopsided promotions

Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika

The Nigerian Army has kept mum over petitions sent to the National Assembly by some aggrieved persons over alleged lopsidedness in recent promotions and retirement of senior officers in the army.

When our correspondent contacted the outgoing Director, of Information, Maj. Gen Bola Koleosho, on Saturday, he did not pick his calls.

A male voice who picked the call said his boss was not around.

The National Assembly has been inundated with petitions arising from the recent promotion and retirement of senior officers.

Most of the petitioners alleged that the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, favoured the South-East where he comes from at the expense of other geo-political zones in the country.

Besides, the petitioners also claimed that the South-East received more slots than other zones in the recruitment of soldiers into the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria.

 It was also gathered the petitioners’ anger was aggravated by the failure of the various pension fund administrators to refund the money contributed by military personnel to the pension scheme.

The Federal Government had ordered the refund on the grounds that it would take care of the pension of the men of the armed forces.

Promoted senior officers of the army have since been decorated with their ranks by the Chief of Army Staff and President Goodluck Jonathan, who was represented by the Minister of State for Defence, Mrs. Olusola Obada, in Abuja and other formations.

However, several soldiers, who were recommended for promotion by the commanders of the various units, were saddened that the 2012 promotion which, should have been ready in September, had not been released in the first week of February.

The soldiers were further angered by the fact that their colleagues who are in Abuja have been promoted while they have been kept in the dark with no information whatsoever from the authorities.

Ihejirika announced the promotion of 2,900 soldiers out of 10,000 recommended by the unit commanders across the country on January 6, 2013.

While decorating promoted senior officers in Abuja he said the promotion of more soldiers would be announced as soon as the verification of documents of the affected soldiers was concluded.

PUNCH