The Chief of Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Oladayo Amao, has approved the immediate establishment of a Directorate of Veterans Affairs, to stimulate better welfare packages for NAF veterans and their families.
The Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF Headquarters, Air Cdr. Edward Gabkwet, announced this in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
Gabkwet said that the new Directorate, domiciled in the administration branch, would also be responsible for interfacing with similar structures in sister services to harness necessary benefits for NAF retirees, under existing Federal Government programmes for veterans.
According to him, CAS disclosed this while declaring open a two-day conference for NAF Administrative and Medical personnel, at NAF Headquarters, Abuja.
The director added that the conference attracted seasoned and erudite resource persons, with vast knowledge in human resource management, as well as experts in the field of medicine.
Amao noted that NAF considered the state of physical and mental well-being of its personnel which, he described as an important factor in sustaining morale and a force multiplier in ensuring operational effectiveness.
He also pointed out that the conference was one in a series of conferences aimed at refocusing NAF’s operational capabilities and bolstering the morale of personnel.
The CAS emphasised that the strength of any armed service was not determined by its arsenal, but by the professionalism of its workforce, largely bolstered through robust human resource management.
In the past two months, NAF had launched the telemedicine portal to ensure access to prompt medical attention, whilst promoting confidence in NAF medical services for enhanced morale and personnel productivity.
He stated further that the outcome of such innovations would stimulate NAF human resource management efforts to be at par with global organisational standards and best practices.
Amao challenged participants to critically assess areas where NAF was lacking as regards personnel welfare and administration and come up with workable measures to mitigate their effects on the service’s operational capabilities.
“As a highly technical service that deals with sophisticated aircraft, equipment and military hardware, maintaining a highly skilled, efficient, healthy and motivated workforce should be the hallmark of our daily activities.
“To this end, we will continue to epitomise best human resource management practices to promote our operational effectiveness,” he said.
Amao expressed the profound gratitude of NAF to President Muhammadu Buhari, for his unwavering and continued support to the service.
The CAS also assured of NAF’s commitment to the successful execution of its constitutional roles for a peaceful and united Nigeria.
Earlier, the Air Secretary, AVM Mahmud Madi stated that the timing of the conference was apt, considering the strategic importance of human resource in achieving organisational goals and objectives.
He also noted that the NAF had invested hugely in human capacity development and personnel welfare in recent years, which had translated into tangible gains in NAF’s operational conduct.
The Chief of Medical Services, Air Cdr Olabode Babalola noted that it was the desire of the CAS to ensure that NAF medical services measured up to global best practice.
He added that Amao’s approval of the conference was a further attestation to his willingness to improve healthcare delivery in the service. (NAN)