President Bola Tinubu has officially promoted Olufemi Oluyede, the acting Chief of Army Staff (COAS), to the rank of Lieutenant General.
This announcement, confirmed by sources at the Presidential Villa on Tuesday, has sparked speculation regarding a potential future appointment as the permanent head of the army.
Oluyede, who was previously a Major General, stepped into the role of acting army chief following the illness of former Army Chief Taoreed Lagbaja.
NIGERIAN TRACKER learned that since the return to civilian rule in 1999, the tradition is that the Chief of Army Staff wears the rank of a three-star general, while the Chief of Defence Staff wears the rank of a four-star general from whichever section of the armed forces he comes from.
The second Army General to wear the rank of a four-star General who did not also serve as Head of State was General Alexander Ogomudia in 2003 when he was promoted by Former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
