General Olufemi Oluyede was replaced as the Chief of Defence Staff by President Bola Tinubu, who made a significant change to the military hierarchy of Nigeria on Friday.
Additionally, Tinubu appointed Rear Admiral I. Abbas as the new Chief of Naval Staff, S. K. Aneke, Air Vice Marshall as the new Chief of Air Staff, and Major-General W. Shaibu as the new commander of the Army Staff.
Major-General E. A. P. Undiendeye, the head of defense intelligence, has kept his position.
Read more about Tinubu’s removal of Musa and others as Oluyede Appoints New CDS.
The President’s Special Adviser, Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, made the change known in a statement.
He claimed that the development supports the Federal Government of Nigeria’s efforts to improve the security system.
The newly appointed service chiefs’ profiles are presented in this table.
General Olufemi Oluyede
Oluyede served as the Chief of Army Staff prior to his appointment as the new CDS.
Additionally, he had previously held the position of 56th Commander of the elite Nigerian Army’s Jaji, Kaduna, base.
The 39th , Regular Course, is home to the 56-year-old Oluyede.
Beginning in 1987, he was made a second lieutenant.
In September 2020, he became the commander-in-chief.
Oluyede has been a member of numerous commands since becoming a police officer.
He served as the 65th Battalions’ Platoon Commander and Adjutant, the 177th Guards Brigade, the Staff Officer Guards Brigade, and the Commandant of the Amphibious Training School.
In addition to leading the 27th Task Force Brigade in the North East of the operation, General Oluyede also commanded the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) Mission in Liberia.
Oluyede’s meritorious service to various operational fields has garnered him numerous awards.
These include a National Institute membership, passing the Staff Course, and the Corps Medal of Honor.
Major-General W. Shaibu
The appointment of Major General Waidi Shaibu as the 25th Chief of Army Staff (COAS) of the Nigerian Army has been approved by the President, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR.
Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede, the newly appointed Army Chief, is described as a seasoned commander, strategic thinker, and a reputable decorated officer.
The appointment of Major General Shaibu marks a pivotal moment in the Nigerian Army’s ongoing transformation, requiring greater operational readiness, professionalism, and unwavering commitment to defending Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Major General Waidi Shaibu, who was a member of the 41 Regular Course in Kogi State on December 18, 1971, was commissioned into the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps on September 17, 1994. He was born in the Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi State on December 18, 1991.
He graduated from the NDA, Kaduna with a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering.
General Shaibu is the recipient of several advanced degrees, including a Master’s in Public Administration (University of Calabar), a Master’s in Strategic Studies (University of Ibadan), and a Master’s in Security and Strategic Studies (National Defense University, Washington D.C., USA), as well as a Postgraduate Certificate in Public Administration from the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration.
Major General Shaibu has held a number of strategic positions, including commander of Sector 1, Operation Hadin Kai, Maiduguri, Brigade Commander, 21 Special Armoured Brigade, Bama, and commander of training at Army Headquarters.
His operational responsibilities include those of Operations HARMONY, BOYONA, ZAMAN LAFIYA, LAFIYA DOLE, TURA TAKAIBANGO, HADIN KAI, DESERT SANITY, and LAKE SANITY, both domestically and internationally.
He and Hajia Safiyyah Hassan have two children together and are blessed with them.
S. K. Aneke, Air Vice Marshall
The family of Air Warrant Officer Sylvester and Mrs. Ngozi Aneke, both of whom were Air Vice Marshals, was Sunday Kelvin Aneke, who was born on February 20, 1972, in Makurdi, Benue State.
He is a native of Enugu State’s Udi Local Government Area.
The new naval chief began his military career on September 10, 1988, when he enlisted as a member of the 40th Regular Course and received his first school leave certificate and West African school certificate.
In response, he was commissioned as a pilot officer for the Nigerian Air Force on September 10, 1993.
He is a graduate of the University of Calabar, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Physics, a postgraduate diploma in management, a master’s degree in international relations and diplomacy, a master’s degree in political economy and developmental studies from the University of Abuja, and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the Air War College, Alabama’s Montgomery Air Force Air University.
Command Operations Officer, Tactical Air Command Makurdi, Director of Safety Headquarters Nigerian Air Force Abuja, Deputy Director Operations Headquarters Nigerian Air Force, and Director of Policy Headquarters Nigerian Air Force are just a few of Aneke’s other appointments in the country.
Prior to his appointment, he served as the NDA’s Deputy Commandant.
Aneke has flown the following types of aircraft: the Hawker 4000, Dornier 222, Citation 222, Falcon 900, Gulfstream V, Gulf Stream 550, and Air Beetle 18 Extended Version.
He and his wife, Enderline Aneke, have three sons.
Rear Admiral I. Abbas
Rear Admiral Idi Abbas was born on September 20, 1969, and is a Kano State native from Nassarawa LGA.
He was commissioned as a Sub-Lieutenant on September 10, 1993, while enrolled in the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) with a Bachelor’s Degree in Chemistry on September 12, 1987.
The newly appointed Chief of the Naval Staff is an AWW specialist officer with experience in both domestic and international military courses, including the Sub-Lieutenant Technical Course at NNS Quora in 1994 and the Junior and Senior Staff Courses at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji, respectively, in 2001 and 2005.
The Nigerian Navy recently appointed the CNS, for which there have been numerous appointments.
He served as the Commander Task Group (CTG) of NN Operation Tsare-Teku in 2015 and the Maritime Guard Commander (MGC) of NIMASA in 2017.
Rear Admiral Idi Abbas steadily rose through the ranks of appointments at Central Naval Command between 2018 and 2022, beginning with his appointment as the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC CNC) of Central Naval Command. In addition, he also served as Commander NNS VICTORY, Calabar in 2020.
He was appointed at NHQ in July 2023 as the Chief of Naval Safety and Standard (CNASS), and in February 2024 he was appointed the Chief of Defense Civil Military Relations (CDCMR) and Defence Headquarters (DHQ).
Rear Admiral Abbas became a Senior Research Fellow at the Nigerian Army Heritage Centre in January 2025, a position he held prior to becoming the 25th Chief of Naval Staff, Nigerian Navy.
