
The Federal Government has assured the Armed Forces and other security agencies of its unalloyed support to them in defending the territorial integrity of the nation, both within and without.
The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defense, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana made the commitment when the newly appointed Service Chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Musa paid a familiarization visit to the Ministry on Monday, in Abuja.
Kana who manages the affairs of the Ministry called on the Service Chiefs to join the Ministry to actualise the vision of the President to restore internal peace in the country, on addition to the laudable achievements it has achieved in other troubled African countries.
Dr Kana further emphasized the need for joint operations in the discharge of their duties saying with synergy amongst all security agencies, quicker and better results can be achieved in the country.
The insecurity and oil theft in the Niger Delta; the ministry of defence and the armed forces are committed to the mandate of the government that we shall continue to work as a team along with other security agencies to ensure peace in Niger Delta and drastic reduction of oil theft
“In addition we commit ourselves as the Ministry of Defence with the armed forces of Nigeria towards supporting other security agencies in maintaining internal security and of course counter terrorism in our country. The Service Chiefs we have here are veterans, tested and trusted, they have been on the war front therefore fighting terrorism and banditry is not new to them”.
According to the Permanent Secretary, the Ministry has embarked on series of programmes such as the reformation of the Armed Forces, assisting government in growing the blue economy, using the Nigerian Navy to utilize our water ways to create employment opportunities for able body Nigerians and others.
Speaking earlier, the Chief of Defence Staff, emphasized that the military’s cooperation with the civilians is very paramount to the armed forces of Nigeria and called on all civilians to support the military in ensuring that Nigeria thrives.
The Chief of Defense pledged to ensure that the military respect human rights in all their engage while also calling on Nigerians to fully cooperate with the the military in the discharge of their duties.
“Our cooperation with civilians is paramount. That’s the only way to show that we are succeeding because why we have the military is for us to defend the territorial integrity of Nigeria, both within and outside. We are seeing the challenges we are facing within so far and we are putting everything in place to ensure that we achieve that. We appeal to Nigerians to support the military.
“The civilians should know that the Nigerian military is for them. We are all committed to what we have been tasked to do and we are going to be very professional. We are going to respect human rights and the rights of every individual is guaranteed.
General Musa said they were at the Ministry of Defence to show their commitment to the set goals of the ministry and expressed commitment to achieving the mandate of the President and Commander in Chief.
He assured the President and Nigerians of their determination to bring peace and tranquility in Nigeria.
“First and foremost let me use this opportunity to express my gratitude to the President and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria for considering us worthy of this appointment. We assure him of our complete loyalty. We all know the challenges we are facing and we are sure we are getting the best of support”, he said.
The Service chiefs on the CDS delegation included, the Chief of Army Staff, Major General. T. A Lagbaja; Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel A Ogalla; Chief of the Air Staff, Air Vice Marshal H.B. Abubakar, and Chief of Defense Intelligence, Maj. Gen. EPA Undiandeye.