Group flays Shehu’s defence of service chiefs, insists on sack

A peace advocacy group has taken a swipe at the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, over the comment credited to him to the effect that the service chiefs would remain in office as long as the president is satisfied with their performance.

The group, under the aegis of Civil Society for Peace and Good Governance in Africa (COSPAGA), described the statement as reckless, irresponsible and unprofessional of a journalist that Shehu claims to be.

COSPAGA, which alleged that Shehu always portrays the president and his administration in a bad light with his unprofessional handling of things associated with his office, said it was time to show him the way out.

In a statement issued yesterday in Abuja and signed by its National Coordinator, Dr. Christopher Yakubu; National Secretary, Barrister Ibrahim Funtua and Director of Programme, Barrister Lola Babalola, the group said contrary to Shehu’s ignorance, the service chiefs are not employees of the president but Nigerians whose taxes are being used to pay them.

COSPAGA, who noted that President Buhari was elected by the people, asserted that if the same people that gave him the mandate to pilot the affairs of the country strongly feel about certain things going wrong in his administration, he must purse and listen to them.

“We received with rude shock the irresponsible statement credited to Shehu, President Muhammadu Buhari’s spokesman, on Arise TV on Monday, where he stated that the service chiefs would remain in office for as long as Buhari is satisfied with them.

“We wonder if Shehu ever went to any image managing school in his life. Ordinarily, he ought to know that the Nigerian people are the employers of the president and the service chiefs with him inclusive, hence it’s not in the place of the president to be satisfied with the performance of the service chiefs but the Nigerian people who have since taken a sound and loud position that they must be sacked immediately, going by current developments in the country.

“As it stands in Nigeria today, the call is loud and clear that the service chiefs be sacked and we urge the president to, as matter of national emergency, respect the wishes of Nigerian people by sacking them,” the group insisted.