Former Naval Chief, Gambo Awwal Zubairu and Successor Ikechukwu Ogalla,
…NAVY REACTS
By Our Reporter
A crisis of monumental proportion seems to be brewing at the headquarters of the Nigerian Navy As the outgone Chief of Naval Staff, Awwal Zubairu Gambo
has refsed to hand over to his successor, Ikechukwu Ogala. This is according to The Gazette.
This development is rearing its head two days after President Bola Tinubu approved changes at the top brass of the nation’s military.
Mr Gambo, 57, said he would leave office on Friday because he had to pay contractors and naval officers from an outstanding capital vote to the tune of billions of naira before leaving office, according to multiple sources at the Nigerian Navy headquarters in Abuja.
Mr Gambo, who was appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 26, 2021, was fired on Monday by Mr Tinubu, the new Nigerian leader who assumed office on May 29. Mr Tinubu said Mr Gambo and his counterparts in the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Air Force should immediately vacate office, with new chiefs named forthwith.
While other service chiefs have since departed following the June 19 presidential directive, Mr Gambo has lingered in office, saying he has some unfinished business to wind up, according to sources familiar with the development.
“The chief of naval staff is still here,” a source told The Gazette from the Nigerian Navy headquarters in Abuja. “We have been begging him to comply with the order of the president and vacate office for the new person that was appointed.”
Mr Gambo reportedly said he was responsible for the release of the funds to the Nigerian Navy and will not be leaving office until entitled contractors and naval officers had been paid.
Sources said Mr Gambo insisted that the payment to contractors may be delayed by his successor, even though he was assured that the navy would meet all valid contractual obligations.
“He wants to pay contractors, himself and other naval officers some billions in capital,” a senior naval officer told The Gazette. “We have never seen anything like this before in our service.”
“He should realise that any action he takes after the president’s public announcement is null and void in the Nigerian Navy,” the official added.
Mr Gambo also said he wanted to oversee the disbursement of millions of dollars for emergency repair work on the NNS Aradu, one of the largest ships in the navy.
“He also mentioned that he was finalising payment for the repair of NNS Aradu, despite our conclusion that the ship should be decommissioned and sent to the naval museum,” a source said.
The navy under Mr Gambo had reportedly budgeted $200 million for the repairs, even though he was advised to take the ship, first commissioned in 1980, out of service.
Mr Gambo did not return a request seeking comments from The Gazette about his decision to remain in office. Mr Tinubu is away on an official trip to France, and a presidential spokesman did not immediately return a request seeking comments.
Mr Ogalla, 54, is a rear admiral who attended the Nigerian military school in northern Zaria city. He also obtained a master’s degree from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria’s southwest. He did not immediately return a request seeking comments about what efforts he’s making to assume his new position following presidential authority.
NAVY REACTS
But debunking the allegations, the authorities of the Nigerian Navy, Wednesday said the outgone Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo has commenced the handing over ceremony. It described the allegation as total lies and falsehood.
A statement by the Director of Naval Information, Commodore Adedotun Ayo- Vaughan said that since inception, hence, 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.
Commodore Ayo-Vanghan said, ‘The attention of the Naval Allegation of Outgone CNS’s Refusal to Hand Over Headquarters has been drawn to a malicious publication by some online media, alleging the refusal of the outgoing Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral AZ Gambo 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 record straight.
“Suffice to state 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 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 and taking over ceremony has kicked off to culminate at a public ceremony on Friday 23 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 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.”
