The Nigerian Air force has trained and certified 43 officers as pilots and co-pilots for the Special Mission Aircraft, Special Mission Specific Equipment Operators, Special Mission Aircraft Maintenance Technicians, operators for the Unmanned Aerial Systems, and C4i operators for effective platform manning.
Bashir Jamoh, director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said the graduation of the air assets crew was another significant leg of the Deep Blue Project, which is NIMASA grand intervention in maritime security.
Jamoh spoke in Lagos during the graduation ceremony of pilots and other air assets trainees under the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure.
He said the assets under the Deep Blue Project will be maintained to serve their purpose of providing security for Nigerian waters and the entire Gulf of Guinea.
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He appreciated the Nigerian Airforce for their commitment to the Project with particular reference to providing facilities for training of pilots and others to complete the training module after completing the technical component abroad.
He added that the challenge is not about deploying the assets but about its maintenance and sustaining the tempo of the project so that it can outlive the present generations and continue to be of benefit to future generations.
Jamoh noted that intelligence gathering within the maritime domain has reached new heights with recent video evidence of improper ballast water discharge in the nation’s waters.
Isiaka Oladayo Amao, Chief of Air Staff, said the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure otherwise known as the Deep Blue Project has strategically repositioned the Nigerian Air Force to effectively support NIMASA to provide an investment-friendly environment through provision of adequate security.
Amao, who was represented by the Chief of Training and Operations of the Airforce, Air vice Marshal JMD Gwani commended the Management of NIMASA for her commitment to seeing through the successful implementation of the Deep Blue Project.
“The graduation of these Nigerian Air Force personnel resonates with the CAS’ vision to enhance and sustain airpower capabilities required for joint force employment in pursuit of national imperatives. All these have strategically repositioned the Nigerian Air Force to effectively support NIMASA to provide an investment-friendly maritime environment through provision of adequate security”.
