Nigerian Airforce to establish base in Abia

…To boost security in South East

In a bid to beef up security in Abia in particular and the entire South-East in general, the Nigerian Air force is to establish Airforce Base in the state.

Hasan Abubakar, Air Vice Marshall, Chief of Air Staff, disclosed this at Government House, Umuahia, when he led a delegation to pay a courtesy visit to Governor Alex Otti of Abia State.

Abubakar disclosed that the essence of his visit was to engage in a meaningful dialogue with Otti and explore opportunities for collaboration between Nigerian Airforce and Abia State.

Abubakar requested the state government for a parcel of land to establish Airforce Base in the State to enhance security in not only Abia state but the entire South-East.

The Chief of Air Staff appreciated Otti for his dedication to public service and commitment to development the state as well as his governance style”which is people-oriented and centered on judicious management of public resources in order to improve the living standards of Abians.”

He used the forum to commiserate with the state government over the unfortunate incident which led to the loss of five soldiers at Obikabia, while assuring that Nigerian Airforce would partner with other security agencies to bolster security in the state.

Governor Otti appreciated appreciated the Chief of Air Staff, Abubakar for granting approval for the establishment of an Air Force Base in Abia.

Otti promised that the state government would provide land for them to site their operations.

He said that in the interim, a temporary site in Umuahia would be provided while operational vehicles, official residence and other logistics required for the take off would equally be provided by the state government.

The Abia Chief Executive expressed optimism that establishment of an Airforce base would be realised in the state to further enhance security of lives and property of citizens.

“I will instruct the commissioner for Lands and Housing to engage with anyone that you will nominate to work with us so that we can realise this in the shortest time possible.

“While we do that, we are also in a position to give you a temporary site so you do not wait for the construction of the permanent site before we realise this good gesture that you have made here. Airforce would partner with other security agencies in the state to bolster security.

“We will give you a temporary site in Umuahia and we will also provide residences for your men and also provide vehicles for them to move around and any other thing that they require and so I believe that we can achieve this in the next one to two months,” Otti assured.

He attributed the relative peace in the state to efforts of security agencies, emphasized that security was among the top priority of his administration adding that government would support them to perform optimally.

While noting that the visit came at the right time especially with the Federal government’s approval for the setting up of an Airstrip in the state, the Governor said the administration was committed to partnering the FG to expand the airstrip to an airport.

The Governor disclosed that his administration was not resting on it’s oars to apprehended the killers of the five soldiers at Obikabia, and announced that the bounty had been upgraded to 30 million naira.

He urged citizens and residents who have useful information to volunteer so as to apprehend the criminals.