A former two-term Governor of Kano State, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to allow the Service Chiefs retire, as the agitation for their removal, especially by federal lawmakers in the National Assembly (NASS), persists.
He said the service chiefs have stayed beyond their 35 years in public service and the mandatory 60 years retirement age, as public servants.
Shekarau, one of the Senators presently representing Kano State in the ninth Senate, spoke as a guest of in a morning programme monitored by PRNigeria on Channels Television.
According to him, the issue of the sacking of the service chiefs over alleged ineptitude has been on for almost two or three years now.
He maintained that none of them (the service chiefs) have put in less than 35 years in service.
Said Shekarau, who is also a former Education Minister:
“The issue of sacking the service chief has been on in the last three years. There is the issue of rule of law. The military is one of the several institutions of public service which is governed by law and the scheme of service. There is a condition on when to leave automatically….. You either attained the age of 60 or being in service for a maximum of 35 years which comes first, they are supposed to retire. None of them had less than 35 years in the service
“I think the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has put in 39 years in the service. The rest of the service chiefs are above 60 years of age. The Chief of Air Staff (CAS) has put in about 37 years, and the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) has put in about 41 years, so what we are saying is that even if Mr. President has found them indispensable, he should allow them to retire as the rule specifies in the public service. He can then hire them either as Minister of Defence, Adviser on Defence or even as NSA.”
By PRNigeria
