Garba Shehu, a presidential spokesman, says the nation’s service chiefs will remain in office as far as President Muhammadu Buhari is satisfied with their performance.
Shehu, who featured during an Arise TV programme on Monday night, said the calls for the sack of the service chiefs are “out of place”.
Parts of the country have seen a rise in attacks in recent months, communities in the north-west and north-central regions have been victims of bandits attacks while kidnappers are on rampage across some states.
Over the weekend, Boko Haram insurgents struck in Borno state, killing more than 40 farmers in a community about 20 kilometres from Maiduguri, the state capital.
As the growing security challenges renewed calls for the sack of the service chiefs, Buhari said he has given them a marching order “to take the fight to the insurgents, not on a one-off, but on a continuous basis”.
During the TV programme monitored by TheCable, Shehu faulted claims the tenure of the service chiefs have expired, saying the law does not prescribe such term limit.
“I am not aware that the tenure of service chiefs is subject to any law or regulation that is clearly stated. They serve at the pleasure of the president,” he said.
“If the president is satisfied with their performance, he keeps them. And the buck stops on his table with all due respect to the feelings of Nigerians.
“The clamour for the sack if out of place considering that the president is not subject to the opinion of the opposition political party which has clamoured for this all the time.”
Shehu said contrary to the view of the opposition that “they have a role” in the tenure of service chiefs, it is “entirely up to him (the president) to decide”.
“He decides who he keeps as a service chief and for how long,” he added.
