The newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Major General Abayomi
\nGabriel Olonisakin has stated his readiness to provide new strategic and
\noperational direction in the prosecution of the fight against terror in
\nthe country.<\/p>\n
The CDS gave this hint in the inaugural address he delivered at the
\nhanding and taking over ceremony between him and the out gone Chief of
\nDefence Staff, Air Chief Marshal Alex Sabundu Badeh (rtd) at the Defence
\nHeadquarters, Tuesday.<\/p>\n
According to him, \u201cA lot has been done in the ongoing counter-insurgency
\noperation in the North East; in furtherance of the successes so far
\nachieved, we will look at ways to strengthen the existing arrangement as
\nwell as provide new strategic direction. We will set specific timelines
\nand milestones to be achieved; look at gaps in the ongoing efforts and do
\nall that are needful, with the support of government, to address these
\ngaps especially in the areas of actionable intelligence, logistics,
\ncommunication and other critical equipment\u201d.<\/p>\n
He noted the imperative of collaborating with other security agencies,
\nespecially in the areas of intelligence gathering and promised to improve
\non such invaluable collaborations.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must explore every available means to obtain real-time and actionable
\nintelligence in all our operations\u201d, he assured while promising to
\nstrengthen the newly established Military Command Control Centre with
\nnecessary personnel and equipment for greater coordination of the North
\nEast operation, in line with Presidential directives.<\/p>\n
The new CDS also vowed to strengthen, provide support and direction to
\nachieve greater success in curbing oil theft and illegal oil bunkering in
\nNigerian water ways.<\/p>\n
Similar initiatives, according to him, will be extended to deal with the
\nspate of armed banditry and other criminal activities within the country.
\nHe lauded the achievements of his predecessor, Air Chief Marshal Alex
\nBadeh, and thanked him for the untiring effort at improving the
\noperational efficiency of the Nigerian Armed Forces and promised
\nconsolidate on his monumental legacies.<\/p>\n
Earlier in his valedictory address, the former CDS thanked members of the
\nNigerian military and Nigerians in general for all the support and
\nencouragement he received from them during his time as Nigeria\u2019s 15th
\nChief of Defence Staff.<\/p>\n
He specifically extended his appreciation to the former President, Dr
\nGoodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR, for the confidence he reposed in him by
\nappointing him as the CDS.<\/p>\n
He also thanked President Muhammad Buhari for also giving him the
\nopportunity to serve under him for about six weeks. Major General Abayomi
\nGabriel Olonisakin was appointed as the 16th Chief of Defence Staff of
\nNigeria on the 13th July, 2015 by President Muhammadu Buhari.<\/p>\n
By PRNigeria<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The newly appointed Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Major General Abayomi Gabriel Olonisakin has stated his readiness to provide new strategic and operational direction in the prosecution of the fight…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40650,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n