Ten Officers of the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps (NAAC) were yesterday pulled out of service having spent the mandatory years of service in the Force. 

The pulling out ceremony was held as the climax of series of events organised by the Headquarters of the NAAC, Bauchi including the inauguration  of its new headquarters complex performed by the Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Taoreed Lagbaja on Wednesday. 

Those pulled out of service were Six major generals including the Reviewing officer,  Maj Gen Nsor Okpa Ojiji alongside Major General, MH Magaji, 

Major Gen GB Audu, Maj Gen M Danmadami, Major Gen JG Mohammed and Major Gen UI Moh’d

Others are four Brigadier Generals including, Brigd Gen A Israel, Brig Gen BA Moh’d, Brig Gen D Abdulsalam and Brig Gen SP Akpan.

Speaking after reviewing the Special Parade proceeding the pulling out, the Reviewing Officer, Maj Gen Nsor Okpa Ofilii expressed gratitude that the tradition has been kept and came to their own turn urging that it should be kept on. 

According to him, “We recall that the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps (NAAC) has a lot of challenges which range from poor accommodation to inadequate professional and medical facilities amongst a myriad others.”

 Ofilii added:”Today, however, I am happy to note that there are many accommodation blocks which are very functional, even the ambience of this Barracks is also very welcoming. Clearly, a lot of resources and efforts have gone in to change the erstwhile situation.” 

 “This is heartwarming. Kudos therefore to the Commander NAAC, his team of officers, the soldiers and their families who are together determined that things must improve in the Corps,” he added. 

He noted:”Our gratitude also goes to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) who has from time to time over the years, made resources available in order to ensure this remarkable changes.” 

According to him, “We are, however, not oblivious of the real daunting challenges of the Armoured Corps which remains poor equipment grading especially in the formations and units.” 

The Reviewing Officer added that, “We, the celebrants symphatise with you the CAC on this issue, but we urge you to continue relentlessly to seek the support of the appropriate superior authorities, especially the COAS, Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja, for continuous medium scale inauguration of equipment especially armoured fighting vehicles and other variants.”

“We hope that the Hon Minister of Defence, Alh Badaru Abubakar to also make this, his cardinal objective during his tenure. I plead with the Hon Minister through this medium to deem it fit to do so,” he further said. 

He added: “I did not understand the true meaning of the word nostalgia until my wife and I got into the gate of this barracks again after 10 years. I have seen some very wonderful personalities again since I arrived, my superiors, my seniors, my contemporaries, the younger Officers then who are now senior Officers in their own rights. Very many soldiers that I remember and their families and our civilian friends.”

Also speaking, the Commandant, Armoured Corps, Major General Mohammed Ahmed said that,”I feel grateful, satisfied and highly honored to have witnessed a day that was filled with mixed feelings and emotions of the pulling out the retired Senior officers.” 

He added: “We are happy that we did what we are supposed to do. We carry out a lot of services to the community ranging from free medical services to the provision of pipe borne water among others and if they tell us their problems, we promptly attend to those problems.”

Mohammed Ahmed added that, “There is no Army in the world that has enough, and Nigerian Army has developed its capacity to the level that you can see that most of our equipment are highly maintained.”

He then wished all the retired Army Armoured Corps Officers well in their future endeavours as civilians urging them to always make themselves readily available for consultations and useful advices for a better Armoured Corps.

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