From Molly Kilete, Abuja
The Nigerian Navy said it has concluded plans to hold a Presidential Fleet Review in honour President Muhammad Buhari, who will be leaving office on May, 29.
The event schedule to hold in Lagos would feature 16 Nigerian Navy warships, 3 Above Water 109E NN helicopters and Nigerian Air Force Super Tucano (NAF) Aircraft, among others platforms of the service.
Chief of Naval Staff(CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, who made this known, said the gesture is to say thank you to president Buhari, under whose tenure the Nigerian Navy acquired 20 capital ships.
He said
The CNS, at a media briefing in Abuja, listed the procured ships to include Offshore Patrol Vessels, Landing Ship Transport, Hydrographic Survey Vessels, Seaward Defence Boats, Helicopters, as well as, over 300 Inshore Patrol Vessels and Assault crafts.
Represented by the Chief of Policy and Plans(COPP), Rear Admiral Saidu Garba, the CNS, while noting that the tenure of President Muhammadu Buhari marks a period of profound transformation of the NN Fleet, said, “The President demonstrated enormous political will in ensuring the recapitalisation of the NN Fleet which has become the pride of the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) and one of the most versatile naval fleet in Africa”.
The CNS, who gave the theme of NN Presidential Fleet Review (PFR) 2023, as “Fleet Readiness for National Prosperity”, said, “This theme was carefully chosen to underscore the essence and value of the NN, as a responsive naval force poised towards the attainment of national prosperity.
It has therefore become expedient to organize the PFR-2023 in celebration of Mr President for his commitment to strengthen the nation’s naval assets and capability to project her instruments of maritime power for national prosperity.
He gave the names of the participating Navy ships as “NNS Thunder, NNS Centenary, NNS Ikenne, NNS Kada, NNS Lana, NNS Kano, NNS Nguru, NNS Ibeno, NNS Aba, NNS Oji, NNS Andoni, NNS Osun, NNS Ose, NNS Ekulu, NNS Gongola and NNS Shiroro.
He said “The participating NAF aircraft are 1 MI35 Helicopter, 1 Diamond-42, 1 ATR-42 MPA and 3 A29 Super Tucano.
“Some foreign warships from allied nations including Spain, Brazil and Ghana are also expected to participate in the exercise”.
