The President and Commander- in- Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria ( AFN), Muhammadu Buhari on Friday, 3 March, 2023 commissioned 700 Ashok LeyLand Troops Carrying Vehicles to complement military operations across the country.
The President while commissioning the vehicles said that the procurement of the vehicles is a testimony of the commitment as well as importance the Federal Government attaches to the welfare of the AFN and other security agencies.
President Buhari who addressed the audience at the occasion held at the Nigerian Navy Holdings Limited in Abuja, via virtual medium added that, his government has over the years, intensified the training and equipment acquisition for the Armed Forces.
He therefore charged the AFN to consolidate on the gains of peace and stability already recorded in the country and gave an assurance of his administration’s continuous respect and improvement on the welfare of members of the Armed Forces.
The Honourable Minister of Defence, Major General Bashir Magashi (retired) while speaking at the occasion stated that the procurement of the vehicles is a significant milestone of many initiatives of President Muhammadu Buhari, particularly his quest towards tackling security challenges in the country. He added that the country is faced with mirage of daunting challenges.
In his words, “The challenges are however, being confronted head-on by the President’s resilience”. He noted that the process of transforming the AFN is not easy, given the multi- dimension of the challenges. The Minister also seized the opportunity to pay tributes to members of the AFN who payed the supreme prize in the course of defending the territorial integrity of the nation.
Also speaking at the occasion, the permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Dr Ibrahim Abubakar pointed out that the vehicles were produced in Nigeria by Nigerians. He emphasized that with the advent of various faces of insurgency being experienced in the country, it is imperative for the country to look inwards and provide local preventive mechanism to fortify her critical assets, formations, borders and various camps across the nation.
Dr Abubakar explained that the engagement of Stallion Motors Nigeria limited by the Ministry of Defence, was based on the Honourable Minister of Defence convictions on upholding the President’s desires to promote the utilisation of indigenous technology as enshrined in the Executive Order 5 signed by Mr President.
It could be recalled that the procurement of these vehicles was initiated since 2014 by the office of the National Security Adviser to facilitate the operational activities of the Armed Forces.
The Secretary to the Federal Government, Chief of Staff to the President, Ministers of Finance, Police Affairs and Interiors were among the dignitaries that graced the occasion.
By Kachi Victor
