Bodunrin Kayode
The Nigerian Army has announced the appointment of a new military secretary for the army. The announcement of Brigadier General Olawale Oyekola’s appointment as military secretary today came with a release by the spokesperson of the army, Colonel Appolonia Anele, who is the acting director of public relations.
Holding the office in an acting capacity, Oyekola will be expected to midwife the welfare, human resources and real-time professional career progression of every officer in the army.
Others affected in the new posting by the army chief, Lieutenant General Waidi Shaibu, include Major General WM Dangana, appointed General Officer Commanding 3 Division Nigerian Army and Commander Joint Task Force Operation ENDURING PEACE, replacing Major General EF Oyinlola, while Major General EI Okoro takes over as General Officer Commanding 6 Division Nigerian Army and Land Component Commander Joint Task Force South-South Operation DELTA SAFE, replacing Major General EE Emeka. Major General JR Lar has been appointed Commander, Army Headquarters Garrison, while Brigadier General I Waziri remains in the Office of the Army Chief as Chief of Staff.
Equally, as part of efforts to deepen operational leadership and force readiness, Brigadier General IB Buhari has been appointed Commander of Headquarters 63 Brigade, while Brigadier General K. Rabiu takes command of Headquarters 31 Artillery Brigade.
Major General SA Emmanuel has been appointed Commander, Nigerian Army Space Command, reinforcing the army’s growing focus on emerging domains of warfare and technology-driven security operations. Major General O. Adegbe has also been appointed director of intelligence and security at defence headquarters.
In the area of professional military education and institutional development, Major General KE Chigbu has been appointed Deputy Commandant of the National Defence College, while Major General SD Makolo is appointed Commandant of the Nigerian Army Armour School, Major General SO Adejimi becomes Commandant of the Nigerian Army School of Supply and Transport, and Major General FS Etim has been appointed Chief of Training at Headquarters Training and Doctrine Command Nigerian Army (TRADOC NA). Brigadier General U. Ahmad takes over as Commandant, Depot Nigerian Army, Zaria.
Other appointments include Major General KO Ukandu as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Post Housing Development Limited (PHDL) and Major General AI Allison as Managing Director of Defence Properties Limited.
The army chief charged the newly appointed senior officers to justify the confidence reposed in them by demonstrating exemplary leadership, professionalism, innovation and unwavering commitment to the Nigerian Army’s constitutional mandate of defending Nigeria’s sovereignty, protecting its territorial integrity and supporting civil authority in maintaining peace and security across the nation.
The Nigerian Army remains resolute in its transformation drive and commitment to building a highly professional, combat-ready and people-orientated force capable of effectively addressing contemporary and future security challenges in pursuit of Nigeria’s national security objectives.
