How President Buhari Procured 20 Capital Ships For Nigerian Navy Within 8 Years – CNS Gambo
President Muhammadu Buhari has procured a total of 20 capital ships for the Nigerian Navy during the eight years of his administration which comprises of Offshore Patrol Vessels, Landing Ship Transport, Hydrographic Survey Vessels, Seaward Defence Boats, Helicopters, over 300 Inshore Patrol Vessels and Assault crafts as well as commissioning of locally built ships in 2016 and 2021, and laid the keel for 2 more, which will be ready by 2024.
Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo represented by Chief of Policy and Plans, Rear Admiral Saidu Suleiman Garba disclosed this during an International Press Conference to commenmorate PFR 2023 on Wednesday at Naval Headquarter, Abuja.
He Said that Presidential Fleet Reviews, PFRS, are traditional events, which navies across the world conduct in order to honour their sovereigns or heads of government.
“It involves assemblage of ships and other maritime assets at a designated area for the purpose of demonstrating loyalty and allegiance to the State.
“The review also provides an avenue for the President to assess the navy’s preparedness to meet statutory obligations in maritime security, safety and defence within a global/regional collaborative approach. During a PFR, the president/head of state is invited to review the fleet in commemoration of a historical event, celebration of important anniversary or any other activity deemed necessary”, Garba said.
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Rear Admiral Garba also stated that the PFR 2023 is organised in honour of President Muhammadu Buhari, in recognition of his generous contribution to the Service and the nation at large and therefore deems it appropriate to honour the Commander-in-Chief for his support to the Service.
“The PFR involves 16 NN warships, 3 x AW109E NN helicopters and a mix of Nigerian Air Force (NAF) Aircraft. The participating NN ships are NNS THUNDER, NNS CENTENARY, NNS IKENNE, NNS KADA, NNS LANA, NNS KANO, NNS NGURU, NNS IBENO, NNS ABA, NNS OJI, NNS ANDONI, NNS OSUN, NNS OSE, NNS EKULU, NNS GONGOLA and NNS SHIRORO. The participating NAF aircraft are 1 x M135 Helicopter, 1 x Diamond-42, 1 x ATR-42 MPA and 3 x A29 Super Tucano. Some foreign warships from allied nations including Spain, Brazil and Ghana are also expected to participate in the exercise. As a way of rounding off, a Gala Night will be hosted in the evening of Monday 22 May 2023 at the NDL, Victoria Island, Lagos”, He added.
“ It is gratifying to restate that the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR marks a period of profound transformation of the NN Fleet. The president demonstrated enormous political will in ensuring the recapitalisation of the NN Fleet which has become the pride of the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) and one of the most versatile naval fleet in Africa. It has therefore become expedient to organize the PFR-2023 in celebration of Mr President for his commitment to strengthen the nation’s naval assets and capability to project her instruments of maritime power for national prosperity”, He concluded.
