Political commentator Mahdi Shehu has criticised President Bola Tinubu over the promotion of his Aide-de-Camp (ADC), calling it a breach of military protocol and a threat to professionalism within the Nigerian Armed Forces.
In a post on his X handle on Monday, obtained by Politics Nigeria, Shehu accused the President of unilaterally promoting the ADC from colonel to brigadier general, thereby bypassing established military procedures and global best practices.
He described the move as contrary to both standard military protocol and common sense, noting that it disregards the morale and career progression of other officers.
Shehu argued that the promotion has disrupted the normal military hierarchy, placing the ADC above officers who were previously his seniors, including those with more years of service.
“The implication of this toxically biased promotion is that the newly promoted ADC is now a mate to officers who were once his seniors and many years senior to his course mates.
“This means prioritising loyalty to an individual over loyalty to institutions,” he wrote.
He recalled that the same officer had been promoted from lieutenant colonel to colonel just last year without completing the required training, and under normal circumstances, his next promotion to brigadier general would have been due in 2028.
By this promotion, the ADC now outranks all his course mates and other officers from his intake, a move Shehu described as institutional destruction.
Shehu warned that such biased promotions could demoralise officers and foster long-term resentment.
“This kind of avoidable, emotional promotion blunder will create permanent bitterness among officers and weaken discipline,” he said, noting that it could tarnish Nigeria’s military reputation in institutions with regional and global linkages.
He further cautioned that if the ADC were promoted again in 2027, possibly to Major General or even Chief of Army Staff, it could force over 8,000 senior officers across the Army, Navy, and Air Force into premature retirement, given the ADC’s position relative to them.
For Shehu, the promotion represents a “toxic, unilateral assault on professionalism, common sense, and the psychology of those who chose the military as a career,” concluding that “a stitch in time saves nine.”