The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has reassured Nigerian Air Force personnel and their dependants of the Service’s continued commitment to their welfare.
Air Marshal Abubakar gave the assurance while on facility tour of Units in the South-South region of the country.
The CAS informed the personnel that the NAF is at the verge of perfecting a number of welfare schemes that would enhance their well-being. The schemes, with special focus on Non-Commissioned Officers (SNCOs), include Affordable Home Ownership Scheme to enable those in the lower cadre to own a personal house before retirement.
Others include review of certain allowances, especially for those serving in NAF Training Institutions, as well as skill acquisition and empowerment programmes for dependants of personnel.
The tour, which provided the NAF leadership with first-hand assessment of the state of facilities in the affected units, was aimed at addressing operational and welfare challenges with a view to enhance personnel welfare and service delivery.
The CAS, starting from 81 Air Maritime Group Benin City, was on hand to commission the newly renovated medical laboratory centre equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, as well as eye and dental clinics, which are parts of the efforts to enhance the status and provision of quality of healthcare by the NAF Medical Centre.
At 207 Special Mobility Group Calabar, the CAS also commissioned a newly built gymnasium, and assured of immediate construction of a purpose-built hospital for the use of the personnel and host communities.
Furthermore, the CAS, while inspecting facilities at Air Force Comprehensive School Uyo promised to immediately address the challenges of shortage of accommodation for staff and students. The CAS also promised to provide more logistics supports that would enable the school address the problem of erratic power supply.
Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar availed the opportunity of his visit to pay homage on political and traditional leadership in Cross River and Akwa Ibom States. The CAS was at the palace of His Eminence, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V, the Obong of Calabar, to appreciate the Obong and people of Calabar for their continued support to the NAF.
Air Marshal Abubakar later visited His Excellency, the Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Deacon Udom Emmanuel, to express similar appreciations to the government and people of Akwa Ibom State. At both occasion, the CAS assured the people of NAF’s commitment and readiness to work with other security agencies in the States to protect lives and property.
Meanwhile, the first batch of 86 trainees, who are biological children of NAF personnel, that participated in the CAS Youths Empowerment Programme have graduated. The 3-month training, which started in January, was conducted concurrently in Lagos and Kaduna as centres for the trainees drawn from NAF units across the country.
The scheme is designed to empower the beneficiaries with the requisite skills to make them self-employed and financially independent. It is envisaged that the training would help to alleviate the burden of parents whose children are unskilled and unemployed.
The trainees were paid N15,000 monthly stipends during the training period, and on graduation were presented skill start-up packs. The NAF is also liaising with Small and Medium Enterprises Development Association of Nigeria (SMEDAN) and Bank of Industry (BOI) to provide micro credit facilities for the graduands.
Courses offered at the Empowerment Programme include catering/venue decoration, computer craft studies, auto mechanic work, plumbering/pipe fitting, Electrical Installation, and welding/fabrication. Training for the second batch of beneficiaries is expected to commence soon.
