Petitions flood National Assembly over alleged lopsided promotions in the Army
Posted by: Yusuf Alli and Yomi Odunuga, Abuja on February 2, 2013 in Featured, News Leave a comment

The National Assembly has been inundated with petitions arising from the recent promotion and retirement of senior officers in the Nigerian Army.
Most of the petitioners are accusing the Chief of Army Staff, Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, of favouring the South East where he comes from at the expense of the North and the South West.
The petitioners also claim the South East was heavily favoured ahead of the other five geo-political zones in the recruitment of soldiers into the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria and particularly faulted the promotion of a military aide to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua who they accused of preventing President Goodluck Jonathan from becoming the acting President of the country.
They want the National Assembly to intervene in the matter and President Jonathan to review the alleged lopsidedness in the promotions.
According to the petitioners, the COAS overuled the Army Council by exceeding the number of officers recommended for promotion, while junior officers were being promoted above their seniors without any regard for the rules.
Alleged marginalization of some crack officers which began in 2010,they said, has now snowballed into tension within the Army.
They claimed that the discrimination is more pronounced in Ordinance Corps, Armoured Corps, Supply and Transport Corps, Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering and graduates of National Defence College, especially courses 19 and 20.
The petitioners,in one case,said: “There is a new dangerous trend in promotions and recruitment in the Nigerian Army which should be firmly and promptly checked before it destroys the military and the country.
“This trend is clearly visible in the manner in which the current Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Azubuike Ihejirika, is handling these two important aspects of running an effective army institution which is very critical to the survival of any state.
” It appears that the Chief of Army Staff is on a specific mission, most probably, sponsored by some sinister dark forces bent on destroying the army and setting the country on the path of serious conflagration.
Petitioners cited the promotion of a former military aide to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua which they said is causing disaffection within the Army.
They said: “Entrenchment of mediocrity and nepotism in the Nigerian Army becomes clearer when we consider the promotion and posting of a Brigadier. This officer was the ADC to the late President Umaru Yar’Adua who was central to the scheme to deploy soldiers in the airport when the late Yar’Adua was flown into the country from Saudi Arabia.
” He did so by disobeying the Chief of Defence Staff, National Security Adviser and the acting President. He prevented Acting President Goodluck Jonathan from functioning until the death of President Yar’Adua.
“Curiously after the death of President Yar ‘Adua, the Brigadier’s colleagues were summarily retired or denied promotions. However, not only was the Brigadier promoted, he has also been elevated above all his seniors
“The question that arises is, what explains the retention and the preferential treatment being given to this Brigadier? One plausible explanation for this elevation of mediocrity is that it is a calculated attempt to achieve a certain sinister or diabolical objective.”
The petitioners also faulted alleged disrespect for the decision of the Army Council on retirement of officers, saying: “The pursuit of General Ihejirika’s agenda also manifested itself clearly in his disregard for decisions of the Army Council. The Army Council approved the retirement of 11 Major Generals, but General Ihejirika retired 12. Similarly, 26 Brigadiers were retired instead 25 approved by the Council, while 13 Colonels were retired instead of the 12 approved.
“It should be mentioned that many Igbo officers who have an age problem were not presented with letters of retirement unlike others who have since been eased out without a chance to progress. A case in mind is that of a Brigadier General from Bauchi who was never presented to any promotion board since he was promoted in 2008. Nefariously, the officer was blocked from being presented three times so that age would catch up with him.”
On the recruitment into the Nigerian Army Depot, the petitioners queried why the South East was more favoured than the other five geo-political zones.
One of the petitions added: “This attempt to Igbonise the Nigerian Army becomes clearer when we look at the pattern of recruitment of soldiers into the Nigerian Army Depot, Zaria under General Ihejirika.
“There has been a massive recruitment of soldiers from his ethnic group to the disadvantage of others.
“For example, Abia State, the home state of General Ihejirika, with a population of only 2.8 million, has so far had the largest share of recruits, 450, far above Kano with a population of 9.3 million, Lagos with a population of just over 9 million and Kaduna with a population of just over 9 million. These states have so far had 259, 255 and 382 recruits respectively.
“The case of Ebonyi is also symptomatic of this glaring lopsidedness in the recruitment figures. Thus although 377 were recruited from Ebonyi with a population of just 2.2 million, Oyo State with a population of 5.6 million had only 282; Katsina with a population of 5.8 million had only 248; Lagos State with a population of just over 9 million had only 255 and only 271 was recruited from Plateau State with a population of of 3.2 million.
“When the same table is analysed on zonal basis, General Ihejirika’s bias in favour of his zone also becomes patently clear. The South East geo-political zone with a population of 16.3 million has so far had the highest recruits – 1925. The North West, which is the largest geo-political zone with a population of 35.8 million, double that of South East, has only 1949 recruits.
“Similarly, the South West geo-political zone with a population of 27.6 million, has only 1561 recruits. Thousands of qualified recruits from these states have had their applications turned down by a kangaroo selection group set up by General Ihejirika.”
The petitioners pleaded with the President and the National Assembly to check the challenge in the Army.
The petition said: “The President, the National Assembly, the Minister of Defence and the National Security Adviser should know that the actions and inactions of General Ihejirika portend great danger for the Army and the country at large.
“A disgruntled officer corps is a recipe for disaster. It means the Army will lack unity, cohesion and purpose. It will be pre- occupied with fighting itself, as our terrible experiences of 1966 -67 showed.
“President Jonathan needs to act and act now. He must not allow himself to be a pawn in a grand design to destroy his government by brewing the kind of discontent within the Nigerian Armed Forces which could become contagious and eventually engulf the entire society?”
A Senator, who spoke in confidence, said: “We have received some of these petitions, and we are looking into them. It borders on security matter; that is why we are quietly treating issues in these petitions.
“We will demand statistics and records from the Chief of Army Staff. But issues surrounding these petitions might be addressed with the Army leadership behind closed doors. We do not want any action which could aggravate the current security challenges facing the nation.”
The outgoing Director of Army Public Relations, Major General Bolaji Koleosho, who has been redeployed as the Chief of Civil-Military Affairs, could not be reached for comments.
Repeated calls to his mobile telephone lines indicated that his lines had been switched off. Sources at the Army Headquarters told our correspondent that he travelled out of his duty post.
Brigadier General Ibrahimn Attahiru who, replaces Koleoso as Army spokesman, is expected to assume responsibilities on Monday after the official hand-over ceremony.
http://thenationonlineng.net/new/news/petitions-flood-national-assembly-over-alleged-lopsided-promotions-in-the-army/

They are trying to cut boko haram‘s hold in the army and the hausa/fulani animals are kicking mischieviously. This is going to be interesting as over 80% of army personnel are hausa muslim. Nigeria is not an arab country.

why are they crying foul? there has always been lopsidedness in the Nigerian Army. the northerners have always had the bigger share of recruits or promotion in the army. whenever an igbo person is involved, these bad belle people always look for a way to complain. this is just similar to Rose Uzoma 's case. smh....

The national assembly has no say in the affairs of the military!!!

chukwudi44: The national assembly has no say in the affairs of the military!!!

kpom kwem!!

This petition if true started with a few disgruntled fellows here on nairaland. I wonder what's the motive of the so called petitioners. They want to create the impression of dis containment which does not exist in the Army. Some incompetent Generals don't want to go back to their villages and look for something to do with their lives rather than conniving politicians to create false impressions to gullible Nigerians. Though this will not have any effects or whatsoever. My advice to the mischief planners is to leave our army alone, the present chief is doing a very good job. He is the best thing that happened to the army in recent times.

please please and please Please ACN attack DOGs on nairaland help us beg fashola he has being going about closing markets in lagos and demanding 50million naira from each of the market.
Ketu market
boundry ajegunle market
orile market
alaber suru market
coker building material market (they paid 65million b4 the market was reopen)
more comming up soon.

The posters up here are iboz and their response to this issue is not surprising. In 1966, iboz did the same and their people just waived it off. No problem but history has a way of repeating itself. Ihejirika will soon have to leave, even so GEJ may have to leave. What do you think will happen then if you thumb your noses at the rest of the country? Even should no one leave, Ihejirika cannot issue a single command that will be executed if he riles up and loses the respect of the army. Exactly the same thing happened in 1966 when a seargent major told the new commanding officer that none of his command will be executed except on conditions and the rest is history. A word is enough.

Must people lie to convey their nefarious intentions.

How is Abia 2.8M? Which census are they quoting, probably 1970 lopsided census after the civil war.

Omexonomy: please please and please Please ACN attack DOGs on nairaland help us beg fashola he has being going about closing markets in lagos and demanding 50million naira from each of the market.
Ketu market
boundry ajegunle market
orile market
alaber suru market
coker building material market (they paid 65million b4 the market was reopen)
more comming up soon.

Who is this slowpoke? What has this rubbish got to do with the topic? If you cannot pay, it's not by force to sell in that market or live in Lagos, go back to the land of your ancestors where you can live peacefully under the rock.

The North and other Zones have always been favoured in recruitment/pormotion in the army more than the SE. Ever wondered why many Igbos adopt Hausa names just to get into the army? If they are trying to balance things up then so be it!

goldfish80: The North and other Zones have always been favoured in recruitment/pormotion in the army more than the SE. Ever wondered why many Igbos adopt Hausa names just to get into the army? If they are trying to balance things up then so be it!

Really? If things go awry and there is a repeat of 1966 or something not pleasant, who will you blame? I hope no one complains if there is a fall out from Ihejirika's folly.

Emm I suggest we set exam for any position and mek the result open

One of the mischievous benefits of the North's highly-inflated population figures... how they use population to divert available positions to themselves. I hope we would address the real issues here.

This is not 1966, the world has moved on. There are rules of war and if you think Ndigbo will be party to the lopsidedness of the past, forget about that insinuation.

Why are all these propaganda and raise of eyebrow happening now. Just because Igbo man is on top for the first time since 1967.

CyberG: The posters up here are iboz and their response to this issue is not surprising. In 1966, iboz did the same and their people just waived it off. No problem but history has a way of repeating itself. Ihejirika will soon have to leave, even so GEJ may have to leave. What do you think will happen then if you thumb your noses at the rest of the country? Even should no one leave, Ihejirika cannot issue a single command that will be executed if he riles up and loses the respect of the army. Exactly the same thing happened in 1966 when a seargent major told the new commanding officer that none of his command will be executed except on conditions and the rest is history. A word is enough.

Deleted

The usual tribal Hatetards are coming to fill this thread with their programmed/copy and paste venoms.

Ojukwu, Biafra, Civil War and Achebe diatribes are about to start.

As i said before, the fear of the igbo man is the beginning of being a balless coward! when an igbo man is in the helm affairs, you see haters behaving like weaklings and they gather like cowards as they are rightly called planning evil against the igbo man.

The only question here should be; With the position and power of COAS, does Ihejirika have the power to do what he did?

If he does, then there should be no further comments.

CyberG:

Really? If things go awry and there is a repeat of 1966 or something not pleasant, who will you blame? I hope no one complains if there is a fall out from Ihejirika's folly.

You really think igbos are going to stand like trees waiting to be cut down?

CyberG:

Really? If things go awry and there is a repeat of 1966 or something not pleasant, who will you blame? I hope no one complains if there is a fall out from Ihejirika's folly.

Let us stop this 1966 blackmail, the right things should always be done despite the fears of the past.

WTF! I hate it when I hear some ijiot say SE and North are been favourd for long, do you mean the Igbo's(SE) dont knw there rights then? Lets call a spade a spade and nt agricultural implement. Even as at now, you cannt compare the population of the yeebos in Army to that North and SW.

Hey berem! I see you running from one thread to another calling Gej clueless, corupt and incompetent. I guess, you were just being brainwashed by all these your yoruba friends that you always follow them in trying to bring down Gej's government without looking at the bigger picture. That is the power of the media and propaganda. They want to annihilate and humiliate the igbos hence trying to bring Gej down because he has done what no other leader could do by making ihejirika an igbo man the coas for the first time since 1966. I urge berem to go and study your history and you will come to understand the high-wired politics being played by the yorubas to bring Gej down to spite the igbos. Their hidden agenda is begining to be exposed. Its all politics. We are waiting for them in 2015, after then in 2019 the igbos will take over. May i ask you berem. Was obasanjo's regime corrupt? Was abdusalami, abacha and ibb regime corrupt? No one talks about them but the media is always awash with Gej this Gej that. May i ask you again berem. Did Gej start oil subsidy and oil theft, vandalsm etc? Ask yourself so many questions. Politics is very complicated and complex, break it down to and fro and you will understand the game. I respect you much cos your always in the politics section unlike the romance section like other women which is rare, but you are not learning the game. In as much as i have my reservations on Gej, i can never be fooled.

berem: As i said before, the fear of the igbo man is the beginning of being a balless coward! when an igbo man is in the helm affairs, you see haters behaving like weaklings and they gather like cowards as they are rightly called planning evil against the igbo man.

chukwudi44:

You really think igbos are going to stand like trees waiting to be cut down?

you should laugh at these jokers. This time there will be no British mercenaries. America will most likely favor igbos because they don't mess with Moslems. we shall finish what they started.


Please how can I write Gen Ihejirika, there is an urgent need to site NDA and NMA campuses in the SE too to balance up the lopsidedness. Let them ask Gen Ihejirika any questions so we can open the history books of tribalism military recruiting

For example, Abia State, the home state of General Ihejirika, with a population of only 2.8 million, has so far had the largest share of recruits, 450, far above Kano with a population of 9.3 million, Lagos with a population of just over 9 million and Kaduna with a population of just over 9 million. These states have so far had 259, 255 and 382 recruits respectively.
?The case of Ebonyi is also symptomatic of this glaring lopsidedness in the recruitment figures. Thus although 377 were recruited from Ebonyi with a population of just 2.2 million, Oyo State with a population of 5.6 million had only 282; Katsina with a population of 5.8 million had only 248; Lagos State with a population of just over 9 million had only 255 and only 271 was recruited from Plateau State with a population of of 3.2 million.
?When the same table is analysed on zonal basis,General Ihejirika?s bias in favour of his zone also becomes patently clear. The South East geo-political zone with a population of 16.3 million has so far had the highest recruits ? 1925. The North West, which is the largest geo-political zone with a population of 35.8 million, double that of South East, has only 1949 recruits.
?Similarly, the South West geo-political zone with a population of 27.6 million The South East geo-political zone with a population of 16.3 million has so far had the highest recruits ? 1925. The North West, which is the largest geo-political zone with a population of 35.8 million, double that of South East, has only 1949 recruits.
?Similarly, the South West geo-political zone with a population of 27.6 million, has only 1561 recruits. Thousands of qualified recruits from these states have had their applications turned down by a kangaroo selection group set up by General Ihejirika.?

through out militatry regime which was in d hands of northners,northeners were favour more than any other region in the area of recruitment in police,army and other security services.we will nt forget that military created states anyhw in the north more than any other region,the north always complain.

sam(obo):
For example, Abia State, the home state of General Ihejirika, with a population of only 2.8 million, has so far had the largest share of recruits, 450, far above Kano with a population of 9.3 million, Lagos with a population of just over 9 million and Kaduna with a population of just over 9 million. These states have so far had 259, 255 and 382 recruits respectively.
?The case of Ebonyi is also symptomatic of this glaring lopsidedness in the recruitment figures. Thus although 377 were recruited from Ebonyi with a population of just 2.2 million, Oyo State with a population of 5.6 million had only 282; Katsina with a population of 5.8 million had only 248; Lagos State with a population of just over 9 million had only 255 and only 271 was recruited from Plateau State with a population of of 3.2 million.
?When the same table is analysed on zonal basis,General Ihejirika?s bias in favour of his zone also becomes patently clear. The South East geo-political zone with a population of 16.3 million has so far had the highest recruits ? 1925. The North West, which is the largest geo-political zone with a population of 35.8 million, double that of South East, has only 1949 recruits.
?Similarly, the South West geo-political zone with a population of 27.6 million The South East geo-political zone with a population of 16.3 million has so far had the highest recruits ? 1925. The North West, which is the largest geo-political zone with a population of 35.8 million, double that of South East, has only 1949 recruits.
?Similarly, the South West geo-political zone with a population of 27.6 million, has only 1561 recruits. Thousands of qualified recruits from these states have had their applications turned down by a kangaroo selection group set up by General Ihejirika.?

Correcting an imbalance, maybe there are only 15 army personnel from Ebonyi state and 19 army personnel from Abia all these years while there might be 45,000 from Kano and 29,500 from Ogun.

dumjoshua: through out militatry regime which was in d hands of northners,northeners were favour more than any other region in the area of recruitment in police,army and other security services.we will nt forget that military created states anyhw in the north more than any other region,the north always complain.

And most of them were employed as illiterates, promoted because of their surnames and prevented from going on wars and peace keeping missions.

FreeGlobe:
you should laugh at these jokers. This time there will be no British mercenaries. America will most likely favor igbos because they don't mess with Moslems. we shall finish what they started.


Please how can I write Gen Ihejirika, there is an urgent need to site NDA and NMA campuses in the SE too to balance up the lopsidedness. Let them ask Gen Ihejirika any questions so we can open the history books of tribalism military recruiting

Its only a matter of time, water must always find its level sha. Igbo people have been severely punished because everybody is afraid of their sense. That sense is what Nigeria needs to develop their scientific sectors.

I see Ihejirika losing his job...

Why is he trying to cause disunity in the army....

Why didn't he learn from his sister in Immigration...

Did he expect others to sit and watch him sideline them because he's Igbo and they've not tasted power since 1867??

The guy's action isn't wise at all..

There has to be balance in doing some of these things..

So, ki ni big deal? If the man favours his people? clear case of giving a dog a bad name to hang it. Who are those shouting and trying to skin this man alive because he is ibo?

Even though, I don't support any corruption or trying to hold brief for him but I want to shamelessly say here that the recruitment process in Nigeria military has alway been like this, right from the time immemorial. Those without sin should cast the first stone!.

Now, where were these people writing petition when small town like Zuru emirate council in Kebbi State produced many generals? The likes of General Ishaya Bamaiyi, Musa Bamaiyi, General Sani Sami? Jakolo?? No one complained when Musa Bamaiyi and Ishaya Bamaiyi, both Generals and brothers from thesame parents became ministers simultaneously?

Where were these people when General Ishaya Bamaiyi the then COAS enlisted truck loads of miscreants from his village into the Nigerian army disregarding the due process and the useless quota system?

Many of which can't even write their names? There was a time when more than half of recruits in Kaduna Jaji came from his village and at thesame time populating NDA with Zuru indigenes. Yes, quote me anytime!!!!

Selective Promotion Where were they when Obj promoted Nuhu Ribadu from mere Assistance Commissioner of Police ( ACP) to Assistance Inspector General of Police (AIG), the first of its kind in the history of the Nigerian police blatantly against the recommendation of Police Service Commission?

Rhino.5dm:
So, ki ni big deal? If the man favours his people? clear case of giving a dog a bad name to hang it. Who are those shouting and trying to skin this man alive because he is ibo?

Even though, I don't support any corruption or trying to hold brief for him but I want to shamelessly say here that the recruitment process in Nigeria military has alway been like this, right from the time immemorial. Those without sin should cast the first stone!.

Now, where were these people writing petition when small town like Zuru emirate council in Kebbi State produced many generals? The likes of General Ishaya Bamaiyi, Musa Bamaiyi, General Sani Sami? Jakolo?? No one complained when Musa Bamaiyi and Ishaya Bamaiyi, both Generals and brothers from thesame parents became ministers simultaneously?

Where were these people when General Ishaya Bamaiyi the then COAS enlisted truck loads of miscreants from his village into the Nigerian army disregarding the due process and the useless quota system?

Many of which can't even write their names? There was a time when more than half of recruits in Kaduna Jaji came from his village and at thesame time populating NDA with Zuru indigenes. Yes, quote me anytime!!!!

Selective Promotion Where were they when Obj promoted Nuhu Ribadu from mere Assistance Commissioner of Police ( ACP) to Assistance Inspector General of Police (AIG), the first of its kind in the history of the Nigerian police blatantly against the recommendation of Police Service Commission?

Let the truth be told, let shame shame the devil.