Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has revealed that his administration has procured over 2,000 fighting equipment since he took over power seven years ago.
The ex military leader also said he had purchased over 550 naval platforms, out of which 319 have been delivered, as a part of the aggressive fleet recapitalisation of the Nigerian Navy.
He made this known while speaking during the passing out ceremony of the Nigeria Defence Academy 69 regular course in Kaduna on Thursday.
President Buhari noted, “We have also increased the number of Nigerian Air Force platforms by more than 38% and enhanced the serviceability rate of aircraft in the NAF inventory by over 70%.
According to him, in pursuing this same objective, the Nigerian Army has received by more than 2000 units of various Armoured Fighting Vehicles, guns, and equipment, saying, “these are in addition to improved funding of the three services along with other security and intelligence agencies.
“These comprehensive and systematic acquisitions within 7 years are not only unprecedented in the past 38 years, but they also align with our pledge to safeguard and strengthen the security architecture of our country.
“Although this is not a forum to introduce you to the military hardware you are stepping out to inherit, it is imperative to identify the magnitude and complexities of conflicts surrounding us.”
While acknowledging that our measures have yielded results and we remain ever grateful for the sacrifices of members of the Armed Forces, Buhari insisted that “we must brace up for the dimensions this conflict has taken.”
He also stressed that “In our bid to fulfil our promise to neutralise Boko Haram terrorism in the North East, which had spread to other neighbouring countries when we took over, the Armed Forces liberated areas occupied by the terrorists and gave the residents a new lease of life, and our commitment to resettling and rehabilitating the victims of the tragedy has been unwavering.
“I want to seize this opportunity to appeal to Nigerians that, although we have recorded successes in the conflict inherited, especially in the North-East, the security challenges in the country have evolved and assumed other dimensions in some areas.
