Jonathan meets with new Service Chiefs
President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday met for the first time with with all the new Service Chiefs, in the presidential villa, Abuja.
The service chiefs, who are statutorily the heads of the nation's military apparatus, were recently screened by the Senate.
Present at the meeting were Vice President Namadi Sambo, the Chief of Defence Staff, Air Vice Marshal Alex Badeh; Chief of Army Staff, Major-General Kenneth Tobiah Jacob Minimah; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Usman O. Jibrin;Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Adesola Nunayon Amosu and the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubukar.
Also at the meeting were the National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd); Directors-General of State Security Services (SSS), National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Ekpeyong Ita and Ayo Oke respectively, Ministers of Justice, interior, Foreign Affairs, Police, among other government officials.
The Security Council meeting, which started about 10:00am in the morning, lasted till about 3:00pm.
Although the details of the meeting were not disclosed to journalists, there are indications that the security challenges they have inherited from their predecessors must have topped discussions.
After his appointment, the Chief of Defence Staff had said that the military would increase the tempo of the 'war on terror', saying that the insecurity issues in the north-eastern part of Nigeria would end in April.
He called for co-operation between the security agencies in order to achieve the needed result.
It will be recalled that the new service chiefs were appointed in January with Air Marshal Badeh, who was until the appointment the Chief of Air Staff, being the sole survivor of the sack of the former service chiefs.
A presidency statement announcing their appointments signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Dr Reuben Abati, had said the President, in making the changes, acted in the exercise of the powers conferred on him by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.