"Buhari can't change service chiefs because he's afraid of coup"

A former member of the House of Representatives and former Senator representing Kano Central, Rufai Hanga, says President Muhammadu Buhari is reluctant to sack the service chiefs because he is afraid there could be a coup d’etat.

There have been renewed calls for the president to sack the service chiefs following penultimate Saturday’s killing of 43 rice farmers in Zabarmari, Borno State.

However, Hanga said that the president has been reluctant to sack the service chiefs because junior officers under them could stage a coup.

In an interview with Sunday Sun, Hanga said, “The Senate and the House of Representatives have made this call several times, but the president has refused to act for the reasons best known to him.

“Some people say he is afraid of coup. He once mentioned it that he didn’t want to change the Service Chief because there were very ambitious officers down the ladder. That means he is afraid of coup.

“The most unfortunate thing is that these Service Chiefs have overstayed their usefulness. Some of them have spent 40 years in service.

“The rule is that you retire after 35 years of service or upon the attainment of 60 years of age. Some of these people have spent far and above their age of retirement so much that the junior officers are being retired.

“It is very demoralising for those under them. It is very disheartening that the most senior is not performing. The president himself has said it that their best is not good enough, which means he is not satisfied with what they have done.”

For the third time in 2020, the Senate also passed a resolution asking the president to sack the service chiefs; just as the House of Representatives summoned him to appear the House to explain rising insecurity in the country.

Reacting, Hanga said, “The call by the Senate is a mere political statement. What have they done all this while since they have been calling for the sack of the Service Chiefs and the president has remained adamant?

“The resolution is empty because the president has refused to budge to their demand. So, there is nothing they can do.

“What is it that the House of Representatives wants to hear from him that the lawmakers have not heard before?

“What has he not said before? If he refuses to appear before the House, nothing will happen.”