Army keeps mum as officers grumble over Tinubu’s ADC promotion

Acting Director of Army Public Relations, Lieutenant Colonel Onyinyechukwu Anele…Photo Credit: Nigerian Army

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The Nigerian Army has yet to comment on reports that President Bola Tinubu approved the promotion of his Aide-de-Camp, Nurudeen Yusuf, to the rank of brigadier-general, amid growing disquiet among some serving officers.

When contacted on Monday for clarification, the Army spokesperson, Col. Onyechi Anele, asked our correspondent to wait until the evening.

As of the time of filing this report, no official response had been issued on the matter.

The controversy followed a report by Premium Times claiming that President Tinubu had approved Mr Yusuf’s elevation.

The report said a letter dated December 12, 2025, and addressed to the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Wahid Shaibu, with copies to the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, conveyed the President’s approval.

According to the report, several officers, including some of Mr Yusuf’s coursemates, were said to be unhappy with what they described as an unprecedented fast-tracking of his career, accusing the President of favouritism.

Our correspondent could not independently verify the authenticity of the purported letter.

However, multiple military sources dismissed the report, insisting that such a promotion was not feasible under existing military regulations. The sources also questioned the authority attributed to the letter’s alleged author.

“The President’s ADC was promoted to colonel in 2024 and certainly cannot be promoted to brigadier-general now. He is required to spend four years in the rank before becoming eligible for promotion,” one source said.

The source added that the appointment of an Aide-de-Camp is at the discretion of the President, based on advice from the Defence Intelligence Agency, and not subject to requests for promotion from other offices.

“The NSA cannot request the promotion of a military officer. There are laid-down rules and procedures that must be followed,” the source added.

A former Chief of Defence Training and Operations, Gen. Ishola Williams (retd.), also criticised the reported move, describing it as inconsistent with established military practice.

“The NSA has no right to write a letter requesting the promotion of any officer of the armed forces. Under normal circumstances, an ADC serves for about two years, returns to regular military duties, and is replaced. He is meant to use only two years and go back to face his military career, and be replaced by another person. ”

In contrast, a former Army spokesperson, Brig.-Gen. Bashir Adewinbi (retd.) said accelerated promotions were not entirely new in the military.

“Many things look mysterious to Nigerians because history is often forgotten,” Adewinbi said. “Shehu Musa Yar’Adua was promoted from lieutenant-colonel to brigadier-general. So, it is not entirely out of place.”

He added that officers could be rewarded for critical but non-public contributions to national security.

“You may not know what he has done internally. Security operations are not always exposed to the public. If he played a critical role, he could be compensated,” Adewinbi said.

The PUNCH journalist, Solomon, has five years experience covering crime, judiciary and defence beats.

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