Nigeria promotes 137 officers to rank of army generals

By Rafiu Ajakaye

LAGOS, Nigeria (AA) - Nigeria has promoted 137 senior officers of the military to the rank of generals, the highest number of promotions under Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

In a statement issued late Monday, Sani Usman, the military’s spokesman, said the Nigerian Army Council approved the promotion of 45 Brigadier generals to the rank of major generals and 92 colonels to the rank of Brigadier generals.

A major general is a two-star general while a Brigadier general is a one-star general in military parlance. Nigeria’s highest military rank for the army is the Field Marshall -- a five-star general -- often assumed by longstanding dictators, which none has ever attained.

Only commissioned officers can attain the rank of general in the Nigerian army.