Major General Olufemi Olatubosun Oluyede has been named interim Chief of Army Staff (COAS) by President Bola Tinubu, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces.
Until Lt. Gen. Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, the substantive Chief of Army Staff, returns, Major General Oluyede will fill the role.
According to reports, the Nigerian Army had maintained that Lt. Gen. Lagbaja was well and just on well-earned vacation.
Oluyede was the 56th Commander of the Nigerian Army’s elite Infantry Corps, stationed in Jaji, Kaduna, prior to his appointment, according to a statement signed Wednesday night by Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President.
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Oluyede, 56, and Lagbaja, 39th Regular Course classmates, were classmates.
In 1992, he received his second lieutenant commission, which took effect in 1987. In September 2020, he was promoted to Major General.
Since being commissioned as an officer, Oluyede has occupied numerous positions of authority. He held the positions of Commandant Amphibious Training School, Staff Officer Guards Brigade, Company Commander at 177 Guards Battalion, and Platoon Commander and adjutant at 65 Battalion.
Operation HARMONY IV in Bakassi, the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) Mission in Liberia, and Operation HADIN KAI in the North East theater of operations, where he led 27 Task Force Brigade, were among the missions in which General Oluyede took part.
Oluyede has received numerous accolades for his deserving work in a variety of operational domains. These consist of the Grand Service Star, the Corps Medal of Honor, the Passing the Staff Course, and National Institute membership.
The Field Training Medal, the Field Command Medal, and the Field Command Medal of Honour are additional awards.
The prestigious Chief of Army Staff Commendation Award was also given to Oluyede.
He has three kids and is married.