The Nigerian House of Representatives has passed a consolidated amendment bill that has secured the second reading, signifying a step closer to potential changes in the appointment criteria for the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the retirement age for members of the armed forces.
The bill, co-sponsored by several lawmakers including Deputy Speaker Benjamin Okezie Kalu, Alhassan Ado Doguwa, Blessing Onuh, Ikeagwuonu Ugochinyere, Esset Mark Udo, Steve Fatoba, and Zakari Dauda Nyampa, seeks to amend the Armed Forces Act. The proposed changes are intended to allow the Chief of Defence Staff to be selected from among the three branches of the Nigerian Armed Forces.
One of the central provisions of the bill is the proposal to set the retirement age for armed forces members at 65 years, with a 40-year service requirement. This suggests a potential transformation in the age and service criteria for military personnel.
During the debate, Rep. Gaza Jonathan Gbefwi emphasized that the current law lacked clarity in its provisions for the appointment of service chiefs and related matters. He highlighted that the existing Act doesn’t explicitly prevent the appointment of non-serving or non-military officers as service chiefs, opening the door to broader possibilities.
Gbefwi articulated that the primary objective of the bill is to establish the appointment of other service chiefs, such as the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Air Staff, and Chief of Naval Staff from their respective branches of service. Simultaneously, the bill seeks to facilitate the learning process for serving military officers through the experiences of retired senior military officers who were compulsorily retired due to the appointment of their juniors as Chief of Defence Staff or Service Chiefs.
The House passed the bill for its second reading and subsequently referred it to the relevant committees for further legislative deliberations.
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