{"id":22161,"date":"2025-10-24T20:04:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-24T19:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/?p=22161"},"modified":"2025-10-24T20:04:39","modified_gmt":"2025-10-24T19:04:39","slug":"air-marshal-abubakar-removed-as-tinubu-appoints-new-service-chiefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/2025\/10\/24\/air-marshal-abubakar-removed-as-tinubu-appoints-new-service-chiefs\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Marshal Abubakar Removed as Tinubu Appoints New Service Chiefs."},"content":{"rendered":"\n

ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 President Bola Tinubu on Friday dismissed Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar from his post as Chief of the Air Staff, part of a sweeping overhaul of Nigeria\u2019s military leadership aimed at bolstering national security and operational efficiency.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abubakar, who was appointed in June 2023, served just over a year before being replaced by Rear Admiral Ibrahim Abbas, who now assumes command of the Nigerian Air Force. The announcement was made through the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, alongside the removal of other top military officials including the Chiefs of Defence, Army, and Naval Staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The presidency did not immediately provide reasons for the shake-up, but analysts say the move reflects Tinubu\u2019s intent to recalibrate Nigeria\u2019s security strategy amid persistent threats from insurgent groups and rising insecurity across several regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abubakar, a career officer with over three decades of service, had previously overseen key reforms in air operations and personnel training. His tenure was marked by efforts to modernize the Air Force\u2019s fleet and improve tactical coordination, though critics pointed to continued challenges in air surveillance and civilian casualties during counterinsurgency missions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New Appointed Air MArshal Rear Admiral Abbas<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rear Admiral Abbas<\/strong>, though previously serving in the Navy, is expected to bring a joint-force perspective to the Air Force leadership. His appointment signals a possible shift toward integrated command structures and cross-service collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reactions to the dismissal were mixed. Defense Ministry officials described the transition as \u201croutine and strategic,\u201d emphasizing the president\u2019s constitutional authority to appoint service chiefs. \u201cThis is about aligning leadership with evolving security demands,\u201d said a senior official who spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Supporters of Abubakar expressed disappointment, citing his commitment to reform and professionalism. \u201cHe was a disciplined officer who genuinely cared about the welfare of his men,\u201d said Musa Ibrahim, a retired squadron leader. \u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate he didn\u2019t get more time to implement his vision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On social media, some Nigerians welcomed the change, hoping it would lead to improved security outcomes. \u201cWe need fresh ideas and accountability,\u201d wrote one user on X, formerly Twitter. \u201cLet\u2019s give the new chiefs a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new appointments take immediate effect, with formal handover ceremonies expected in the coming days. Tinubu\u2019s administration has pledged to prioritize defense modernization and inter-agency coordination as part of its broader national security agenda.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABUJA, Nigeria (FN) \u2014 President Bola Tinubu on Friday dismissed Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar from his post as Chief of the Air Staff, part of a sweeping overhaul of Nigeria\u2019s military leadership aimed at bolstering national security and operational efficiency. Abubakar, who was appointed in June 2023, served just over a year before being replaced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":22171,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-naija-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.funminews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Former-Chief-of-the-Air-Staff-Air-Marshal-Hasan-Abubakar.png?fit=710%2C400&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22161"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22161\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22172,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22161\/revisions\/22172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22171"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.funminews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}