By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Ministry of Defence (MOD), has restated its commitment to supporting the Armed Forces and other security agencies in maintaining internal security and counter-terrorism operations in the country.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana stated this when the new Service Chiefs led by the Chief of Defence Staff, Major General Christopher Musa paid a familiarization visit to the Headquarters of the MOD in Abuja on Monday.
While congratulating the Service Chiefs on their recent appointments by President
Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the Permanent Secretary urged them to join the Ministry to key into the vision of the President to restore internal peace in the country.
Dr Kana who reminded the Service Chiefs that the country is expecting a lot from them following their appointments further stressed the need for joint operations and synergy amongst all security agencies 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”.
The Permanent Secretary stated that the Ministry on its own is embarking on a series of programmes such as the reformation of the Armed Forces, assisting government in growing the economy, using the Nigerian Navy 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.
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. Why we have the military is to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria, both within and outside and we are putting everything in place to achieve that.
“We want to use this medium to appeal to all Nigerians to support the military. We are happy we have met the permanent secretary ministry of defence who has assured us of support and to the civilians, know that the military is for you , the armed forces are here because we have a nation and we will do whatever it takes to ensure that Nigeria thrives and we are going to respect human rights and be very professional in our approach”.
While pointing out that the Armed Forces of Nigeria was a discipline and Professional Institution, the CDS promised that the Military in carrying out its mandate would be professional with total regard for human rights and rules of law.
According to him, “Our operations will be guided by the rules of law, total regard for human rights, the Armed Forces of Nigeria belong to Nigerians, without Nigerians there can be no Armed Forces of Nigeria, So, therefore, we are appealing for the total support of the members of the Public the Armed Forces of Nigeria in carrying out the mandate given to us by the Mr President to restore peace to the country.
“God has been kind to us, I mean myself, the Chief of Army Staff, Chief of Naval Staff and the Chief of Air Staff, we have been together for a very time now and have been appointed by the Mr President as the heads of the nation’s Armed Forces, there will be no room for failure and we will not let the nation and the Mr President down.
”We grew up in a peaceful Nigeria and we are committed towards the restoration of that peace, we are going to put our heads together and put in our best, it is a task that must be done, with the co-operation of our Supervisory Ministry, the Ministry of Defence, though the Ministry is yet to get a Minister, we are indeed happy with the good working relationship we have been having with its Permanent Secretary Dr Ibrahim Abubakar Kana.
Other Service Chiefs on the 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.
