SAN FRANCISCO, July 22, (THEWILL) – The Chief of Air Staff, CAS, Air Marshal Sadiq Abubakar on Friday warned officers and men of the Nigeria Air Force, NAF, against getting distracted by disgruntled persons calling for war in the country.
He gave the warning in Kaduna at the passing out of 1, 928 recruits, stressing that the personnel must not compromise national security or engage in acts capable of bringing the NAF to disrepute.
According to him, “Do not be distracted by disgruntled elements who have little understanding of what war is all about.
“These individuals call for violence from balconies of their houses and from the comfort of their sitting rooms or when they are interacting with the press without the understanding of the tragic consequences of war.
“The NAF will continue to protect the lives of all Nigerians and the territorial integrity of the nation.
“No inch of Nigerian territory will be ceded to any individual or group of individuals.”
Abubakar said the air personnel must also subject themselves to civil authority, guard against over zealousness and resist temptation to brutalise civilians.
“Your duty is to protect all Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic background or religious inclination.
“Also, you must not succumb to any inducement or acts that would cause disaffection among fellow members of the armed forces or among Nigerians.’’
The CAS pledged to continuously place priority on the welfare of personnel and put more efforts to upgrade the defence capability of the service.
He disclosed that NAF has so far recruited a total of 4, 163 airmen and women from July 2015, and expanded its training facilities to accommodate 2,500 recruits at a time as against 500 before the coming of the Buhari administration.
Abubakar told the recruits to be prepared to excel in internal security duties wherever they find themselves.
He expressed gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for his continuous support to NAF in meeting its operational requirements and welfare of personnel.
“I want to assure Mr President of our unalloyed loyalty and total commitment to his administration’s aspiration for a peaceful and prosperous Nigeria,’’ he stated.
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