PROFILE : AVM HB Abubakar  Appointed  22nd Chief Of  Air Staff

Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Hassan Bala Abubakar has been appointed       the 22nd Chief of the Air Staff by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic Nigeria, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Born on 11 September 1970, AVM Hassan Abubakar hails from Shanono Local Government Area of Kano State. He enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) as a member of Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 39 and was commissioned Pilot Officer on 19  September 1992.

AVM Abubakar has attended several courses, among which are  Ab-initio and Basic Flying Training Courses at the then 301 Flying Training School, Kaduna; Basic and Advance Airborne Courses at the Nigerian Army Infantry Centre and School, Jaji; and Company Amphibious Operations Course at the Nigerian Army Infantry Centre and School, Calabar.

Others include Junior and Senior Command and Staff Courses at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji, and National Defence Course at the Nasser Higher Military Academy, Cairo, Egypt.

Previous appointments held by the CAS include Officer Commanding ‘B’ Squadron (Do 228), 81 Air Maritime Group NAF Benin; Team Leader MILOB Team Site 615 Mahagi (Ituri Brigade) United Nations Organisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUC); and Aviation Planning Officer, MONUC Air Operations Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo.

He was Commanding Officer Base Services Wing 81 Air Maritime Group Benin, and later served at different times at the 88 Military Airlift Group, Ikeja, where he held various appointments, including Operations Officer Operational Conversion Unit, Operations Officer, Commanding Officer 21 Wing, and Group Safety Officer.

Furthermore, he was Fleet Operation Officer 011Presidential Air Fleet, and thereafter served as the Commanded of the Unit. His other appointments include Chief of Staff, Mobility Command, Yenagoa; Air Officer Commanding Logistics Command, Ikeja, as well as Director of Policy, and Director of Operations, both at the Headquarters Nigerian Air Force, Abuja. Until his appointment as the 22nd CAS, he was the Chief of Standards and Evaluations, Headquarters Nigerian Air Force, Abuja.

AVM Abubakar has earned several awards and decoration, some of which include Distinguished Service Star (DSS), Passed Staff Course (psc), and Fellow Defence College (fdc). He is a member of the National Institute of Management, Chartered Institute of Public Management, and Nigerian Institute of Safety Professional.

The Chief holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biological Science from NDA, and Master’s Degree in International Affairs and Diplomacy from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.