TheCable

President Muhammadu Buhari has accepted the nomination of Yusuf Muktar Dodo as his new aide-de-camp (ADC).

Mohammed Abubakar, the president’s current ADC, is set to go for a course.

Abubakar, a colonel, was nominated to attend a five-month strategic and defence course at Santiago, Chile from March 8 to July 30, 2021.

The course is a prerequisite for his next promotion to the rank of a brigadier-general.

Garba Shehu, presidential spokesperson, confirmed the development to TheCable.

By the end of February, Abubakar would be the longest serving ADC to a civilian president, having served in that position for almost six years, and the second longest serving ADC in the history of armed forces of Nigeria after William Walbe, the late lieutenant-colonel who served as ADC for nine years to Yakubu Gowon, former military head of state.

Abubakar who has served in various army units and formations within and outside Nigeria at different capacities was said to have recommended his successor by nominating three officers to the president.

Dodo, an academy adjutant of the Nigeria Defence Academy (NDA) who was eventually picked by the president, will understudy Abubakar for three weeks, as Abubakar is expected to leave for Santiago on March 8.

The office of the ADC to the president provides security and protects the president and his family in conjunction with other security agencies.

The ADC also attends to the personal needs of the president and other matters regarding his functions as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces.