Yoruba elders back Ohanaeze Ndigbo’s position on service chiefs’ appointment

Urges review to accommodate South-East

Elders from the South-West, under the aegis of Conference of Concerned Yoruba Elders (CCYE), have condemned the continuous sidelining of Igbo from the security management team, saying that the development has happened for the second time, having experienced the first in 2015 when no military officer of South-East extraction was in the security team composed by the President.

The elders, who applauded President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing one of their illustrious sons as Chief of Air Staff, said the President’s gesture was a demonstration of his unwavering confidence in the South-West region.

In a statement signed yesterday in Abuja by their National Co-ordinator, Prof. Olusegun Ajibola and National Secretary, Dr. Catherine Adisa, the elders said having carefully followed the development since 2015, they felt constrained to voice their concerns over the matter.

They appealed to the President to review the appointment of security heads and accordingly accommodate the South-East for justice and equity, saying that all major regions of the country should be given equal representation in the security management.

The group tasked Nigerians not to sit on the fence on the matter, challenging them to stand up for the Igbo by voicing their concerns, saying: “Injustice to one is injustice to all.”

“We have carefully followed the reactions and counter-reactions trailing the appointment of the new service chiefs and concerns raised by Nigerians over the exclusion of South-East, and as critical stakeholders in the Nigerian project, we wish to add our voice to this growing concerns”.

“Firstly, we thank God and President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing our son, Air Vice Marshal Oladayo Amao, as Chief of the Air Staff. This is the second time that the President is considering our region worthy enough for appointment into the nation’s security management. We are indeed grateful to him for this gesture.

“We can categorically say that it is an appointment that the President will not regret because of the professional and moral competence of the officer.

“We, however, stand totally with Ohanaeze Ndigbo and several other Nigerians who are of the view that justice was not done to South-East in the composition of the service chiefs and should be urgently and fairly reviewed in the interest of justice and equity.”

“We wish to say here in very clear terms that we have nothing personal against the new service chiefs because they are all competent in their various capacities. However, we wish to say also that there are also competent and qualified Igbo in the various arms of the Nigerian military,” the statement said.