By Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity to the President, Garba Shehu, has said the demands for the sack of service chiefs is not the solution to the security challenges in the country.
This is coming a day after he been been condemned for the interview he granted the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that farmers killed in Borno state did not get military clearance before visiting their farms.
The presidential media aide who appeared on Arise TV on Tuesday, said: “The clamour for the sack is out of place considering that the President is not subject to the opinion of opposition political party which has clamoured for this all the time.
“It is entirely his (Buhari) determination; he decides who he keeps as his service chiefs and for how long.”
President Muhammadu Buhari has been under intense pressure from oppositions, lawmakers as well as civil society organizations to rejig the security architecture in the country after Boko Haram killed about 43 rice farmers at Zabarmari, in Jere Local Government of Borno State over the weekend.
Buhari who described the killing as insane, gave matching order
But Shehu said the appointment and sack of service chiefs are not tied to public demands.
“I am not aware that the tenure of service chiefs is subjected to any law or regulation that is clearly stated. They serve at the pleasure of the president and (if) the president is satisfied with their performance, he keeps them. The buck stops at his table —with due respect to the feelings of Nigerians.”