PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved the immediate preparation of a comprehensive national threat assessment and a rolling five-year strategic defence operations plan to strengthen coordination across Nigeria’s defence, intelligence and security capabilities.
A statement on Wednesday, August 19, by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga, said Tinubu, while issuing the directive at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the State House, Abuja, stressed the need for a coherent framework to respond to evolving security threats nationwide.
The statement added that Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Homeland Security, Maj-Gen. Adeyinka Famadewa, will coordinate and provide secretariat support for the 11-man committee constituted to draft the strategic defence operations plan.
It listed other members of the committee as the National Security Adviser (NSA), Nuhu Ribadu; Minister of Defence, Gen. Christopher Musa; Minister of State for Defence, Bello Muhammad Matawalle; Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Olufemi Oluyede; Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt- Gen. Waidi Shaibu; Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke; Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Idi Abbas; Director General of the Department of State Services (DSS), Tosin Ajayi; and Director General of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA), Muhammed Muhammed.
The President said the new framework would provide a common understanding of the threats facing the country, operational objectives to be achieved and capabilities required to address them.
Tinubu, according to the statement, noted that recent security successes, including the rescue of pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Council of Oyo State, demonstrated the importance of improved coordination among defence, security and intelligence agencies, adding: “The operation demonstrated what can be achieved when our agencies work together with a clear objective and the necessary intelligence.”
The President also noted that operational requirements were currently often considered individually, without sufficient reference to an agreed national threat assessment or unified medium-term plan, making coordination more difficult and limiting the efficient deployment of resources.
Noting that the national threat assessment would identify the principal threats facing the country, determine their relative urgency and establish operational objectives for addressing them, Tinubu added that the strategic defence operations plan would translate the assessment into clear operational priorities, identifying the forces and capabilities required in each theatre, existing capability gaps, equipment and support needs, and an implementation timetable.
Under the directive, the committee may also consult or co-opt representatives of other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) where their participation is required.
The statement said the President further directed the committee to commence work immediately and submit the completed National Threat Assessment and Strategic Defence Operations Plan for his consideration and approval within 90 days, saying: “Once approved, the plan will serve as the principal framework for coordinating military and defence operations over the medium term.
“It will also provide the basis for preparing a corresponding multi-year defence expenditure and procurement plan, ensuring that resources are directed towards agreed operational priorities and critical national security requirements.”
He also directed the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the Office of the NSA to take all necessary steps to give immediate effect to the directives.
