The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, says the Nigeria Army will vigorously promote equipment maintenance to enhance its operational readiness.
Lagbaja gave the assurance during the presentation of a research paper by Nigerian Army participants of National Defence College (NDC) Course 32, on Thursday in Abuja.
The title of the paper is “Equipment Maintenance and Operational Readiness: Strategic Options for the Nigerian Army by the year 2035”.
This is contained in a statement by the Director, Army Public Relations, Maj -Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, on Thursday in Abuja.
The COAS commended the participants for a well-researched paper, saying that the army had a lot to gain when the research findings were implemented.
He assured them that the army would adopt some of the recommendations in the maintenance of its vehicles in the various theaters of operations for effective operational performance.
According to him, as technologies continue to advance, the Nigerian army will continue to adopt and integrate evolving innovations in order to maintain a competitive edge and standardised operations in the theatres of operations.
Earlier, the Commandant of NDC, Rear Adm. Olumuyiwa Olotu, expressed gratitude to the COAS for his tremendous support to the College and availing himself to listen to the paper presentation by one of the participants , Col. Eromosele Lawani.
Olotu said that the topic of the paper sought to enhance equipment viability in the army as an essential requirement for attainment of its mandate in protecting Nigeria’s territorial integrity, strategic infrastructure, people and core interests.
He added that the army needed to constantly build requisite capacity to maintain equipment, as well as leverage key local and foreign stakeholders to ensure a high rate of operational readiness.
The event was climaxed with the presentation of a hard copy of the research paper to the COAS by Course 32 President Colonel Saidu Tafida.