The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has recorded a major feat with the refurbishment of 17 fire trucks across it’s unit all over the country.
The refurbishment, according to Air Commodore Olatokunbo Adesanya, NAF Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI), was carried out by Nigerian Engineers and locally sourced spare parts on trucks parked for over 20 years across Nigerian Air Force base across the country..
Adesanya said seven others will soon be repaired and put to use.
He added that host communities would now benefit from the services to be provided through the repairs.
“The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has made substantial progress in its efforts at refurbishing the disused fire trucks in its bases all over the country.
“So far, 17 out of the 24 fire trucks earmarked for refurbishment have been successfully repaired and handed over to the respective units.
“The latest set of two refurbished fire trucks was handed over to 107 Air Maritime Group Benin on 5 October 2017. It is noteworthy that most of the fire trucks being refurbished had been parked for over 20 years as ‘Beyond economic repairs’.
“Furthermore, the refurbishment is being undertaken by a local firm, utilizing Nigerian engineers and mostly locally sourced materials and spares.
“With the refurbishment of the fire trucks, the NAF is now able to more independently provide fire cover for aircraft operations at its bases thereby enhancing operational safety.
“As part of its corporate social responsibility, the NAF is also now better positioned to provide complementary services with regards to fire fighting in the host communities,” the DOPRI said.
Adesanya noted that repair work on another set of two trucks, began on October 7, 2017.
The leadership of the NAF, he explained, took the option of effecting the repairs, to save the nation huge funds that would been expended in procuring new trucks.
“The leadership of the NAF, being mindful of the enormous cost of procuring new fire trucks and the scarce resources in the nation, decided to explore the option of locally refurbishing the fire trucks.
“The foregoing decision by the NAF leadership is in tandem with one of the key drivers of the vision of the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar.
“That key driver is ‘Robust logistics support and maintenance culture to sustain platforms and equipment serviceability,” Adesanya said in a statement obtained by BusinessDay.
STELLA ENENCHE, Abuja
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