The Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Salihi Magashi (Rtd) has reaffirmed the commitment of the Federal Government in ensuring consistency in the upgrading of Equipment of the Nigerian Military to enable for the effective discharge of their constitutional responsibility.
Gen. Magashi stated this in an interview with journalists in his office, Ship House, Abuja.
The Minister pointed out that “it will be a wrong notion to presume that any Armed Forces would be adequately equipped in total to deal with asymmetric warfare as we are currently facing in Nigeria until the security threat ceases to exist”.
Notably for the Nigerian Army, the Minister said that the administration has procured several VT-4 Main Battle Tanks, STI Light wheeled Tanks, Mine Resistant Ambush Protection Vehicles, armoured repair recovery vehicles and mine sweepers. Others are troops carrying vehicles, Ground Radar Surveillance Equipment, Advance Tactical Geo-Location Platform Catcher, mortars, artillery weapons as well as various calibre of guns and ammunition.
He added that this administration has procured many modern military equipment and platforms in line with the current acquisition drive to boost the capacity and capability of the Armed Forces.
Gen. Magashi disclosed that, for the Nigeria Air Force, this administration have acquired Super Tucano aircrafts, Augusta 109 and 135 Helicopters, Mi-35M Helicopters, Super Mushark Helicopters, several unmanned aerial vehicles as well as various caliber of guns, bombs and ammunition.
“I can confidently say that the overall capability of our armed forces has been massively enhanced over the last 6 years and we are gradually reaping the benefits of these improvements. Similarly, on the issue of manpower, the Federal Government has continuously improved the manpower intake and training of the Armed Forces to meet its manpower demands,” he said.
The Minister noted that “this Ministry has approved several initiatives by the Services to improve both local and foreign training with several countries. We have also upgraded the training facilities in our schools as well as reviewed training programmes to reflect new operational and planning doctrines to better prepare personnel for the challenges associated with asymmetric warfare”.
Gen Magashi further stated that the present acquisition drive, manpower intake and training in the Armed Forces are continuous with Mr. President’s desire to reposition the Armed Forces to tackle insecurity in the country.
Amaka Jeff
For: Director (Press)
