President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, has appointed Major General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede as the acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS).
Oluyede will act in the position pending the return of the indisposed substantive Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, said Special Adviser Information and Strategy to the President, Bayo Onanuga, on Wednesday.
Until his appointment, Oluyede served as the 56th Commander of the elite Infantry Corps of the Nigerian Army, based in Jaji, Kaduna.
The 56-year-old Oluyede and Lagbaja were coursemates and members of the 39th Regular Course.
He was commissioned a second lieutenant in 1992, effective from 1987. He rose to Major-General in September 2020.
Oluyede has held many commands since his commissioning as an officer. He was Platoon Commander and adjutant at 65 Battalion, Company Commander at 177 Guards Battalion, Staff Officer Guards Brigade, Commandant Amphibious Training School.
General Oluyede participated in several operations, including the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) Mission in Liberia, Operation HARMONY IV in Bakassi, and Operation HADIN KAI in the North East theatre of operations, where he commanded 27 Task Force Brigade.
Oluyede has earned many honours for his meritorious service in various fields of operations. These include the Corps Medal of Honour, the Grand Service Star, Passing the Staff Course, and Membership in the National Institute.
Others are the Field Command Medal, the Field Command Medal of Honour, and the Field Training Medal.
Oluyede also received the coveted Chief of Army Staff Commendation Award.
He is married and has three children.
THISAGE recalls that Nigeria Army a fortnight ago debunked widespread social media death rumour of the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagabja and clarified that the COAS was on official leave.
The rumoured story claimed that the COAS died two days ago from terminal cancer at an undisclosed hospital abroad. This, according to the story, has created a leadership vacuum, which senior military officers were jostling to occupy.
The rumour about the COAS may have been fuelled by the circumstances surrounding the absence of such a high ranking military officer as COAS without any official announcement.
Dismissing the rumoured story, Army spokesman, Major General Onyema Nwachukwu, said Lagbaja was on official leave and the Army Chief of Policy and Plans, Major General Abdulsalami Ibrahim, will act on his behalf, adding that as a structured organisation, General Lagbaja’s absence was not affecting the operations of the army.
He said, “There have even been insinuations that there is a leadership vacuum, with officers confused about what to do. Nothing could be further from the truth. To be very clear, the Nigerian Army is a highly- structured establishment with well-laid-out procedures and processes for dealing with different circumstances. Before proceeding on leave, necessary protocols were put in place for the Chief of Policy and Plans (Army), Major General Abdulsalami Bagudu Ibrahim, to act on behalf of the COAS while he was away.
“This is not peculiar to the NA, as there have been instances where unforeseen human frailty kept service chiefs away for about three months, and their Chiefs of Policy and Plans held sway in their absence. Claims of a leadership vacuum in the NA at present are therefore mere speculation, as all routine and scheduled activities of the service are on course.”
The army spokesman said all routine and scheduled activities of the army are currently going on smoothly with all departmental chiefs fully carrying out their responsibilities in line with the COAS directives.
