President Muhammadu Buahri says he appointed the new Chief of Army Staff, Major General Faruk Yahaya, based on his experience in the frontlines.
He said this during an Arise TV interview monitored Thursday morning.
Buhari appointed Yahaya after the demise of former Chief of Army Staff Lt-General Ibrahim Attahiru, who died in a plane crash in Kaduna last month.
The appointment, however, prompted criticism from indigenes of the South East geo-political region who had wanted the President to appoint one of their kinsmen for the position.
“Those who know the administration well know that we have appointed people from the South East into important positions,” he said.
“We considered all the factors as well as personal experience and commitment before we arrived at this choice. If you want the soldiers to be effectively led, you must bring someone who has been in the system and went to the field.
“We are fighting on different fronts. We need someone with ample experience who has been in the field.
“We reshuffled the country’s security apparatus to augment our performance with regards to security. When they came in the first thing they did was to make consultation. And they are now in charge. We don’t want to publicize our gains, but we are recording success.”
