The Chief Of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral A.Z .Gambo, has commissioned several projects developed by the Nigerian Navy. Welcoming him on his arrival at the Naval Air Base Ojo, the commanding officer, officers and men at the station, ensured his smooth movement around the Navy Barracks.
This is part of the Navy’s constitutional mandate towards a comprehensive transformation plan to guide the officers and men of the Navy on an effective pathway to ensure that they discharge their duties with relative ease and effectiveness.
The projects which were spread across three different commands in Lagos are a girls’ hostel at the Nigerian Navy Secondary School Ojo, A Block of 8×3 bedroom flats for officers, 2 Blocks of 16×2 bedroom flats for officers, 24 ×1 unit rooms for under training ratings and the renovation of a diving wing at the underwater warfare school at the the Nigerian Navy Barracks, Ojo. Other commissioned projects were the remolded armoury and remodeling of officer’s long and sub technical course block with befitting amenities at Tongeji Island. Shoreline revetment at Nigerian Navy Ship BEECROFT, three office blocks for the Naval Doctrine Command and a 250 meters runway with inbuilt lights and non- directional beacons to aid training band operations in restricted visibility at the Naval Air Base Ojo.
Other commissioned and ongoing projects are the reconstruction of the Base flat Officers accommodation in Nigerian Navy Ship BEECROFT and a 2,500 meter perimeter fence of forward operating Base at Takwa Bay.
These infrastructural projects, are to boost the facilities within barracks and Bases to bolster the capacity and confidence of the men and to ameliorate any form of deficiency in discharge of duties according to Vice Admiral Gambo.
The CNS also used the occasion to applaud all commands of the Nigerian Navy on its’ sustained and conscious patrols of Nigerian waters that have reduced piracy and other maritime crimes. He said that these efforts have made Nigeria to be delisted from the International Maritime Board’s list of piracy prone countries, in March last year. This as a ripple effect, has led to the lifting of War list premium tag on Nigeria that has significantly reduced high insurance premium for ships in Nigerian controlled waters to $960 as against $5000 per shipment.
He charged the officers and men to double their efforts on the Gulf of Guinea region to ensure intelligence driven patrols to rid the maritime sector of all forms of insecurity. While on this, the CNS congratulated all the gallant officers and men, who were responsible for the successful arraignment and conviction of Motor Tanker HEROIC IDUN and her crew in August last year.
These strides he said, have proven that the Nigerian Navy in line with its’ motto of ” Onward Together” , will continue to be the nation’s sentinel in protecting and guarding her maritime front and developing the nation’s Blue economy.
