President
Goodluck Jonathan, yesterday, said that he sacked the immediate past service
chiefs because of unhealthy competition which made it possible for Boko Haram
insurgents to attack the Air Force operational base in Maiduguri.
Jonathan said
the terrorists destroyed fighter aircraft during the attack and went scot free
because of the rivalry between the former service chiefs.
The service
chiefs, who were sacked included the Chief of Defence Staff, Admiral Ola
Ibrahim; Lt General Azubuike Ihejirika, Chief of Army Staff, COAS, and Vice
Admiral Dele Ezeoba, Chief of Naval Staff.
The President
warned that any rivalry among the new service chiefs that threatens national
security as was the case in the past, would not be tolerated.
He spoke in Yola
at the commissioning of the Nigeria Air Force, NAF, Comprehensive Secondary
School. He said a situation where Boko Haram terrorists succeeded in attacking
a military installation because of unhealthy rivalry among the service heads
would no longer be accepted.
Emphasizing that
the insurgents’ activities and other crimes would be better tackled if the
synergy between the services worked for the collective interest of Nigeria, the
President said: “I urge you all to cooperate because in recent times some
mutual cooperation among the service chiefs and personnel have been lacking.
This time around, we will not tolerate any unnecessary competition that would
be retrogressive to this country.
“We charge you
to work together and I believe that we would no longer experience any
unpleasant situation we had in the past because of some obvious lapses,” he
said adding, that the National Assembly along with traditional institutions can
form the bedrock on which “we can move our country to the next level.”