Nigeria has reshuffled its most senior security staff in a move seen as partly motivated by political considerations in the run up to national elections scheduled for next April.

President Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday announced the retirement of his powerful national security advisor, Aliyu Gusau. He also moved his army chief to overall chief of defence, promoting a new army chief and also appointing a new air force commander.

The reshuffle is highly significant in Nigeria, which has been ruled by the military for most of its post independence life and where former military rulers, including Mr Obasanjo, are among the real political playmakers.

Security sources said the reshuffle had strengthened Mr Obasanjo, who earlier this month saw Nigeria’s senate reject a constitutional bill allowing him to run for president for a third consecutive term.

The military positions had been under review for at least a year but Mr Gusau’s removal is seen as the most significant change.

Analysts said the new military configuration had been chosen carefully by Mr Obasanjo to balance professional and political objectives.

However, security analysts noted that Mr Gusau’s replacement did not have a significant network of his own intelligence contacts and would have to rely heavily on the networks of the State Security Service, a government intelligence agency run by a loyalist to Mr Obasanjo.

Mr Gusau has held high security positions through past military regimes and has privately voiced presidential ambitions. Mr Obasanjo, who won elections in 1999 and 2003 that were marred by allegations of rigging, had been irked by Mr Gusau’s persisting relationship with Ibrahim Babangida, another former military ruler.

Elections in Nigeria, the world’s eighth largest oil exporter, are expected to be turbulent. No clear successor to Mr Obasanjo has emerged and the ruling party, a coalition of interests representing Nigeria’s regional divisions, is sharply divided.

Opponents of Mr Obasanjo say the reshuffle is part of a wider plan to cling on to power if elections are somehow disrupted. But analysts say the reshuffle would at the very least allow him a tight rein on the security services while he cuts political deals to pick a successor, including perhaps Mr Gusau.

Nigeria sacks top security chiefs (BBC)