Air force redeploys senior officers

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, on Monday approved the posting and redeployment of some senior officers, including Branch Chiefs, Air Officers Commanding, Directors and Commandeers in the Service.

This was contained in a statement made to Defence Correspondents in Abuja by Group Captain Kabiru Ali, Deputy Director of Public Relations and Information of the Nigerian Air Force.

The statement explained that the exercise was carried out in order to enhance operational flexibility, inject fresh perspectives and optimize leadership capabilities.

According to the statement, some of those affected “are Air Vice Marshal (AVM) Olasunkanmi Abidoye, who has been redeployed from the Defence Headquarters to NAF Headquarters as the Chief of Standards and Evaluation, AVM Adeniyi Amesinlola, previously the Commandant at the Armed Forces Resettlement Centre, now to serve as the Chief of Transformation and Innovation at NAF Headquarters and AVM Abubakar Adamu as Group Managing Director of NAFIL Group.

“Others include AVM Iboro Etukudo, appointed as the Chief of Policy and Plans, AVM Francis Edosa, now the Chief of Training and Operations, AVM Dalhat Ladan as the Chief of Air Intelligence, AVM Suleiman Usman now the Chief of Communication and Information Systems while AVM Sayo Olatunde and AVM Lanre Oluwatoyin to serve as Chief of Defence Policy and Plans and Chief of Defence Space Administration respectively, at the Defence Headquarters.

Also affected “are AVM Ibikunle Daramola, previously the Chief of Communication and Information Systems, reassigned as the Chief of Civil-Military Relations, AVM Abiola Amodu, who served as the Director General of the Air Force Research and Development Institute, now the Chief of Aircraft Engineering and AVM Patrick Phillips is now the Chief of Logistics. Additionally, AVM Elijah Ebiowe has been appointed as the Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Tactical Air Command in Makurdi, while AVM Sunday Aneke takes over as the new AOC Mobility Command in Yenagoa.

“Other newly appointed AOCs include AVM Abubakar Abdullahi, now overseeing the Air Training Command in Kaduna, and AVM Adeniran Ademuwagun appointed as the AOC Logistics Command in Ikeja.

The statement explained that while congratulating the new appointees, Air Marshal Abubakar reiterated the essence of the redeployment, which majorly allowed for strategic flexibility and resource optimization for enhanced operational effectiveness of the NAF.

It added that the CAS also harped on the importance of leveraging deep and critical thinking in proffering strategies for addressing current security challenges.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE