Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, has said that the Nigerian Air Force is shifting attention to the South south to check militancy.
He said disclosed this during the quarterly route march of the NAF, in Abuja.
He said the air force was in the process of deploying its fighter aircraft and other air power arsenals, including the F7i Supersonic assault aircraft, the Alpha jets and Mi-35 gunships, to the Niger Delta region to put a stop to the recent resurgence of destruction of oil and gas infrastructure by militants.
He said: “The challenges in the North-East have been substantially addressed; so we are not worried much about the North-East,” he said
“Our main focus now would be to protect the territorial integrity of Nigeria in the South-South and to ensure that our oil and gas infrastructure is not destroyed by any group or individuals.
“Very soon, we will launch an exercise in the South-South also, and the aim of the exercise is to protect our people and the infrastructure of Nigeria.”
Taking about the routing match, he said the aim was to prepare officers and men for the demands of their profession.
“We are all aware of the challenges the Nigerian state is facing; so we must therefore be in the best of forms in terms of our health and physical well-being, to be able to address this challenges,” he said.
“This is why the quarterly route match exercise is an exercise we take seriously. We want to assure Nigerians that, by this exercise, even at the highest level, we are capable, and willing to face the challenges in the Nigerian state; if we can do this at this level, then you can imagine what our officers and air men are doing in the battle front.”
