Tinubu holds first meeting with service chiefs after defence minister’s appointment

By : Terhemba Daka

Date: 15 December 2025 9:20pm WAT

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Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Maj-Gen Emmanuel Undiandeye (left); Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lt-Gen Olufemi Oluyede; President Bola Tinubu; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Maj-Gen Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Idi Abbas and Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Vice Marshal Sunday Aneke during the President’s audience with the new service chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.

Chief of Defence Intelligence (CDI), Maj-Gen Emmanuel Undiandeye (left); Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Lt-Gen Olufemi Oluyede; President Bola Tinubu; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Maj-Gen Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Rear Admiral Idi Abbas and Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Vice Marshal Sunday Aneke during the President’s audience with the new service chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.

President Bola Tinubu on Monday evening held a closed-door meeting with Nigeria’s Service Chiefs at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in what officials described as a high-level security engagement amid mounting national and regional concerns.

The meeting commenced at about 6:01 pm, shortly after the President departed the State House Conference Centre, where he attended the public presentation of the book From Soldier to Statesman: The Legacy of Muhammadu Buhari.

It marked Tinubu’s first formal meeting with the military high command since the swearing-in of General Christopher Musa (ret) as Minister of Defence on December 4, signalling an early move to realign defence and security strategy under the new leadership at the Ministry of Defence.

Although the agenda of the meeting was not officially disclosed as of press time, the engagement is taking place against the backdrop of worsening internal security challenges, including the continued captivity of 115 students abducted from a Catholic boarding school in November.

The development has intensified public pressure on the Federal Government to recalibrate its response to kidnapping and mass abductions, particularly in the North and parts of the Middle Belt.

On November 26, President Tinubu declared a national security emergency, ordering the recruitment of new personnel into security agencies as part of efforts to address manpower gaps and overstretched forces.

He also directed the withdrawal of police personnel attached to private individuals and VIPs, and their redeployment to core policing duties.

The meeting also comes days after the Senate approved Tinubu’s request to deploy Nigerian troops to the Republic of Benin, following an attempted coup in the neighbouring West African country, underscoring Nigeria’s expanding regional security responsibilities under ECOWAS frameworks.

Security sources say the Aso Villa meeting is expected to cover a broad range of issues, including internal security operations, intelligence coordination, border security, counterterrorism efforts, and Nigeria’s regional commitments.

In recent days, there have also been renewed calls from some quarters for changes within the defence establishment, including pressure on the President to review the performance of senior security officials amid persistent insecurity.

While the Presidency has not commented on the speculation, Monday’s meeting with the Service Chiefs is seen as an indication that Tinubu is personally engaging with the military leadership as he reassesses the country’s security architecture.

Officials present at the Villa declined to brief journalists immediately after the meeting, leaving the outcome and possible decisions to speculation.

However, analysts say the timing of the engagement suggests an urgent effort by the President to assert civilian leadership over security policy, coordinate responses across the armed forces, and restore public confidence in the state’s capacity to protect lives and property.

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