The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has pledged the support of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) to the Ministry of Defence’s implementation and advisory committee set up to reform the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) for effective and efficient service delivery.
The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, disclosed this in a statement on Friday, in Abuja.
According to Gabkwet, the CAS made the pledge while hosting members of the committee led by its Vice Chairman, Lt.-Gen. Abel Akale (Rtd) at NAF Headquarters, Abuja.
The CAS recalled that in the past, there had been several reform recommendations that never saw the light of day.
He, however, expressed optimism that with the rich pedigree of the committee members, there was no doubt that the recommendations, when implemented, would return the AFN to its rightful position of global reckoning.
The CAS also commended the Minister of Defence, Maj.- Gen. Bashir Magashi (Rtd) for seeing the need to reform the entire military, noting that the timing of such reform could not have been more appropriate, in view of the dynamic nature of modern warfare.
In his remarks, Alkale stated that the committee members were at the NAF Headquarters to brief the CAS on their efforts in implementing the various recommendations as contained in the approved report, as well as to solicit his support and input on how to move the processes of the recommendations forward.
While underscoring the indispensability of airpower to counter-insurgency operations, Akale emphasised the importance of ensuring that the well-thought-out recommendations were implemented by the services to the letter in view of the renewed emphasis on synergy.
He also thanked the CAS for recommending a competent senior NAF officer, AVM Emmanuel Wonah, as NAF’s representative on the committee.
“The officer you sent to represent the NAF on the committee has been excellent and should serve as a source of pride to NAF,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that in February, Magashi inaugurated a 21-man Committee to facilitate the reforms of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
The Committee, which was headed by AVM Mohammed Umaru (Rtd), had a 10-point Terms of Reference basically aimed at repositioning the Armed Forces for 21st Century warfare.
The main task of the committee was to ensure the execution of the recommendations of the Reforms Committee. (NAN)
