Chief of the Air Staff Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar said at the weekend that within the past three years, President Muhammadu Buhari approved the purchase of 18 new combat aircraft for the Air Force and 13 old ones were rehabilitated.
Air Marshal Abubakar also said over 2,000 Special Forces were trained by the force and about 1,000 of them were already deployed to participate in various operation to keep the country save and secure.
According to a statement issued in Abuja by the Air Force spokesperson, Air Vice Marshal Olatokunbo Adesanya, the Air Force boss spoke in Bauchi during the inauguration of an outdoor small arms shooting range and other projects executed by the Air Force.
The statement reads: โAs part of Bauchi State Governmentโs contribution to human capacity-building in the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Governor Mohammed Abubakar has donated land within the Lame and Bura Forests to the service for the establishment of an Air Range.
โThe governor announced this yesterday, July 28, 2018, during the commissioning ceremony of an outdoor small arms shooting range and other projects recently executed by the NAF at its Base in Bauchi.
โThe other projects commissioned during the event included two blocks of Commandersโ Quarters, one block of 6 x 2 bedroom married senior non-commissioned officersโ accommodation, one block of 10 single room non-commissioned officersโ accommodation as well as the Quarter Guard, entrance way and Gate of Headquarters Special Operations Command (SOC). A historical Photo Gallery building constructed by the Commander 251 Base Services Group was also commissioned yesterday.โ
Speaking during the ceremony, the Bauchi State Governor said the NAF had done remarkably well in dealing with most of the security challenges confronting the nation.
He said the NAF had always demonstrated professionalism and discipline in the conduct of its operations while making invaluable sacrifices to ensure peace and security in the country. The governor seized the opportunity to once more thank Buhari for approving the establishment of SOC and the NAF Base in Bauchi.
Highlight of the occasion was a special range classification exercise at the shooting range, where the SGOH and other dignitaries tested their marksmanship ability using the Tavor assault rifle and the FN Browning pistol at 50m and 25m ranges.
