The House of Representatives has commenced the screening of the new Service Chiefs appointed recently by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Recall that the President had written to the House, requesting the screening of the new military top shots. This is the first the House will be embarking on such exercise as it had always been done by the Senate.

The appointees included Chief of Defence Staff, Major-General Lucky E.O Irabor; Chief of Army Staff Major-General Ibrahim Attahiru; Chief of Naval Staff Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo and Chief of Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal Ishiaka Oladayo Amao.

In his opening remarks at the meeting, Wednesday, the Chairman of the ad-hoc Committee for the screening, Hon. Babajimi Benson said the screening was in accordance with provisions of Section 18 (1) of the Armed Forces Act, Cap A20 Law of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 which required that the nominees be confirmed by the National Assembly.

He added that the committee will be thorough and grill the new Service Chiefs on areas of personal skills and experience, insurgency and general insecurity, personnel welfare among others.

He said: “We are here today to perform the screening exercise of the nominees as part of the legal confirmation process. From the inception of this 9th House of Representatives, National Security has been discussed more than 200 times at plenary. Yet the nation is still grappling with diverse and increasing security challenges, despite some successes recorded by the gallant men and women of our Armed Forces. While I appreciate there is no single magic solution, I believe the kind of leadership provided to our Armed Forces is part of the solution mix.

“We in the House of Representatives will continue to engage constructively with the government and provide any support needed to strengthen the hands of our gallant men and women in uniform to successfully secure this nation and provide the peace and stability needed for economic growth and development of our country,” the chairman noted.