The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the

Nigerian Armed Forces The Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) are the combined military forces of Nigeria. It consists of three uniformed service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief ...

and the most senior uniformed military adviser to the

minister of defence A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

and the

president of Nigeria The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Nigeri ...

. The chief of the defence staff is based at the Ministry of Defence and works alongside the Permanent Secretary of Defence, the ministry's senior civil servant. The Chief of Defence is the highest ranking officer to currently serve in the armed forces. It is occupied by the most senior commissioned officer appointed by the

President of Nigeria The president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is the head of state and head of government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the Nigeri ...

. The position was established for the first time under Nigeria's 1979 constitution. The current chief of the defence staff is General Lucky Irabor, who succeeded General

Abayomi Olonisakin Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin (born 2 December 1961) is a retired Nigerian army general, former Chief of Defence Staff, and current Nigerian Ambassador to the Republic of Cameroon. He was appointed to the position of Chief of Defense Staff on 1 ...

in January 2021.

Role

The Chief of Defence Staff gives operational directives to the Nigerian Armed Forces through the service chiefs and reports to the commander-in-Chief with administrative supervision of the Honourable Minister of Defence. It is the duty and responsibility of the CDS to formulate and execute policies, programmes towards the highest attainment of National Security and operational competence of the Armed Forces namely; the Army, Navy and Air Force. The CDS is assisted by the other Service Chiefs: * Chief of Army Staff * Chief of Naval Staff * Chief of the Air Staff

List of Chief of the Defence Staff

The chiefs have been:

References

External links

Chief Defence staff Nigeria
{{Chief of military by country Nigerian military appointments

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...