The Nigeria National Security Adviser to Goodluck Jonathan, General Patrick Owoeye Azazi, has been sacked. This was published on Presidential Spokeman, Mr. Reuben Abati’s Twitter timeline.
Sources close to the presidency has disclosed that Azazi has been replaced by Mr. Sambo Dasuki, a retired army Colonel and a onetime ADC to the former military Head of States, General Ibrahim Babangida.
It would be recalled that Azazi has been put under pressure since the insurgence of the Boko Haram militant and his subsequent comment that indicted the People’s Democratic Party – he accused them of being behind the Boko Haram militants. The party’s stake holders and chieftains had since then advised Jonathan to sack Azazi.
However, the recent killings in Kaduna and Yobe that has posed a national threat to the cooperate existence of Nigeria must have contributed to the action of Mr. President, who has been faulted on several occasions for holding on to Azazi as the National Security Adviser and for travelling to Brazil when the country is on fire.
Affected by the shakeup is the Minister of Defence , Dr. Halliru Bello who was also sacked. Speaking with the NTA over the phone, Abati did not state why the Security chief and the Defence Minister were sacked. Abati said that the sack was to re-assure Nigerians that the Federal government was on top of the situation and lapses noticed here and there would be corrected.
However, it was disclosed that shortly before his sack, Azazi had a meeting with Mr. President.
Details on the shakeup is still sketchy. We will bring you more details soon.
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