Presidential spokesman Garba Shehu has described the clamour for the sack of service chiefs as “out of place”.
During an interview on Monday night with Arise TV, Mr Shehu said service chiefs serve at the pleasure of the president, adding that they would remain as long as the president deems fit.
Calls for the sack of the service chiefs grew following the recent killing of 43 farmers by Boko Haram near Zabarmari, Borno.
“I am not aware that the tenure of service chiefs is subjected to any law of regulation that is clearly stated,” Shehu said.
“They serve at the pleasure of the president and (if) the president is satisfied with their performance, he keeps them. The buck stops at his table — with due respect to the feelings of Nigerians.
“The clamour for the sack is out of place considering that the president is not subject to the opinion of opposition political party which has clamoured for this all the time. It is entirely his own determination; he decides who he keeps as his service chiefs and for how long.”
Shehu had earlier said the farmers had no military clearance to be on the rice farms when the attack happened.
Following outrage over his statement, he said he gave an honest answer to a question asked if the military cleared the area as terrorist-free.
