The Nigerian Navy has dismissed the story that its immediate past Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral AZ Gambo, refused to hand over to the new Chief, Rear Admiral EI Ogalla.
In same vein, the trending video purportedly of officers and men of the Nigerian Army celebrating the appointment of their new Chief, Major General TA Lagbaja, to the extent of carrying him up and dancing round, has been found to be fake. It is confirmed to be a video of Major General Aliyu who, many months ago, was celebrated by his troops after a feat. Noted a retired General: “Absolutely no!! Not possible for the Army, Navy or Air Force.” to celebrate the appointment of a new Chief in that manner.
In a statement titled: Nigerian Navy Debunks Allegation By Some Online Media Of The Outgoing Chief Of Naval Staff’s Refusal To Hand Over issued by Commodore AO Ayo-Vaughan, Navy’s Director of Information, the Navy stated:
“The attention of the Naval Headquarters has been drawn to a malicious publication by some online media such as Peoples Gazette, opr.news, hallmark news and others alleging the refusal of the outgoing Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral AZ Gambo, CFR, to hand over to the incoming Chief of the Naval Staff, Rear Admiral EI Ogalla. The media reports are totally lies, misleading and capable of spreading falsehood to unsuspecting members of the public. It is, therefore, necessary to put the records straight.
“Suffice to say that handing and taking over ceremony in the Nigerian Navy from inception is procedural. Upon the announcement of the change of the “Watch on deck”, the outgoing CNS, is expected to give a detailed brief to the incoming CNS, tour key Naval facilities, and perform the ceremonial lowering of ensign.
Accordingly, the programme of events leading to the formal handing over and taking over ceremony has kicked off to culminate at a public ceremony on Friday 23rd June 2023, in line with age long Naval tradition.
“Instructively, it is pertinent to mention that sister Services are also due to hand over as they have set aside specific dates for their handing over and taking over ceremonies.
“Members of the public are, therefore, advised to discountenance the malicious publication and erroneous information as a figment of the reporter’s imagination.”
President Bola Tinubu had on Monday retired the Service Chiefs as well as the National Security Adviser and the Inspector General of Police and replaced them immediately with new appointees.
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