In Abuja, the Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, President Muhammadu Buhari, was represented by the Minister of Defense, Maj.-Gen. Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd) CFR, to commission 700 Ashok Leyland troop carriers via zoom.
The acquisition of the vehicles represents yet another important milestone among many initiatives of the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to reposition the Armed Forces of Nigeria, the Minister of Defence stressed in a statement from Mohammad Abdulkadri, Special Assistant to the Minister of Defence on Media and Publicity. The country is currently dealing with a variety of security challenges. The importance of troop logistics mobility for efficient operational efficiency, he claimed, is recognized by the federal government.
The Defence Minister noted that Nigerians are being employed as a result of the President’s Executive Order 5, or EO5, and added that the C-in-C also facilitated the massive purchase of cutting-edge equipment, such as fighter jets, ships, and fast patrol boats, in order to reposition the Armed Forces.
The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence, Dr. Ibrahim Abubakar Kana, mni, who oversaw a team assembled by the Ministry to communicate with Messrs Stallion Motors Ltd, which provided the initial fifty buses in 2014 and the current 700 vehicles, thanked President Muhammadu Buhari for all the support that led to the commissioning ceremony despite the fact that it seemed hopeless at the time.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria, or DICON, is being repositioned to carry out its mandate in accordance with the foresight of its founding fathers, according to the Permanent Secretary, who repeatedly referred to the Ministry of Defence’s vision under the leadership of Maj Gen Bashir Salihi Magashi(rtd) CFR.
