Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin has inaugurated five new military armour personnel vehicles (MAPV) at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja, asserting that the immediate deployment of the equipment would add impetus to the on-going war against Boko Haram Terrorists in the North-East.
Gen. Olonisakin, who commended President Muhammadu Buhari for the special attention his administration has given so far to the Armed Forces of Nigeria, said it was gratifying that the president has been consistent in his support for the military in the areas of capacity building, trainings and the welfare of personnel among others.
Gen. Olonisakin who was flanked by the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen. Tukur Buratai while inaugurating the Armour Vehicles, was also supported by Senior Military Officers from the Defence Headquarters and the Army Headquarters and Naval Headquarters.
Gen. Olonisakin had earlier in the day presented Certificates to the 19 pioneer graduates of the Strategic Management and Policy Studies Course 1/2018 of the Nigerian Army Resource Centre, Abuja. The Certificates were presented at the Conference Hall of the Resource Centre.
The Course participants comprises of 5 Major Generals, 4 Brig.Generals, and 3 Colonels from the Army, one Rear Admiral and one Captain from the Navy, 2 Deputy Directors from the Department of State Security, (DSS), 2 Deputy Commanders from FRSC, and one Education Officer from the Federal Ministry of Education.
Addressing the graduating senior officers, Gen. Olonisakin said the knowledge acquired at that strategic level should be deployed immediately to the service of the country considering the current security challenges facing the nation.
He said the Course was initiated to ensure inter-agency collaboration and interactions at the top leve of policy and decision making, adding that when the pilot programme was conceived there were misconceptions about what it was meant to achieve.
Gen. Olonisakin said he was happy that the misconceptions have been laid to rest given the success of the programmes and the fact that the 36 months programmes come with a Master Degree from the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA).
The Chief Army Staff, Lt. Gen Tukur Buratai in his remarks said the programmes was organised to bridge noticeable gaps within the top echelon of the military, stressing that the experiences and knowledge gained during the programme would enable the senior officers understand security issues from another prism.
