Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North, has called on the Senate to urgently review the Armed Forces Act to curb what he described as the “wastage of trained military personnel” caused by the arbitrary appointment of service chiefs.
Kalu made the call on Thursday during plenary while contributing to debate on the general principles of a bill seeking to repeal and re-enact the Armed Forces Act. The bill, sponsored by Senator Abdulaziz Yar’Adua (Katsina Central), later passed second reading.
Speaking on the floor, Kalu criticised the practice of appointing service chiefs from junior military courses, saying it has forced many senior officers into premature retirement and resulted in the loss of highly trained manpower.
“In amending this law, I want the committee to look into the issue of military courses,” he said.
“For example, the current Chief of Army Staff is from course 41. That means everyone from courses 39 and 40 has had to retire. We spent a lot of money training these officers, and when they are retired prematurely, it becomes a waste of Nigerian taxpayers’ money.”
The former Abia governor argued that appointments of service chiefs should respect the established hierarchy within the armed forces to promote fairness, continuity, and institutional integrity.
“If the commander-in-chief wants to appoint a Chief of Army Staff, Naval Staff, or Air Staff, it should follow the course order. Each course should have a fair chance to lead,” he insisted.
“We have had instances where a single appointment led to the retirement of over 200 generals who still had seven or eight years to serve. This is wasteful and unfair.”
Kalu added that such reforms would help strengthen professionalism and unity across the military.
“The Nigerian Army should be one army, one people, and one voice. We must ensure the system in the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) is respected,” he said.
However, Deputy Senate President Barau Jibrin, who presided over the session, warned lawmakers to tread carefully when proposing reforms that might infringe on the president’s constitutional powers as commander-in-chief.
“We need to be very careful,” Barau cautioned.
“The military has its own traditions, and they understand them better than we do. The commander-in-chief also has the latitude to appoint as he wishes. When reviewing this law, we must balance both the authority of the president and the military’s established traditions.”
He further advised that military authorities be fully consulted to ensure that any amendments align with both constitutional provisions and operational realities within the armed forces.
The Armed Forces Reform Bill will now proceed to the committee stage for further legislative work.
