The Chief of Army Staff, (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya, says the high command of the Nigerian Army will continue to consult retired Generals and tap from their wealth of experience in tackling the insecurity issues in the country.
Lt.Gen Yahaya disclosed this on Wednesday at a valedictory dinner in honour of 52 Generals, comprising 23 major-generals and 29 brigadier- generals who have retired and will be retiring before the end of the year.
While presenting one two-star general and a one-star general with their records of service certificates, Lt.-Gen. Faruk Yahaya said the daunting security challenges facing the nation currently required that all hands should be on deck toward arresting the situation.
Addressing the officers, the COAS said there was need to celebrate and be grateful to God for reaching the peak of their careers, adding that a number of their colleagues who joined the service with them had died.
“It is, therefore, my honor and privilege to most sincerely appreciate you all for your sacrifices and meritorious services to the nation and this gesture will in future be replicated at divisional and brigade levels for our retiring officers of the rank of colonel and below.
“The culture of loyalty, dedication, hard work, commitment, courage and integrity that we all imbibed in the course of our careers are noble virtues that we should continue to cherish and uphold.
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“We should all continue to cultivate, nurture and nourish them and lie on them in and out of service,” he said.
“I would like to assure you of my commitment to improving the welfare of your families as our health facilities and other welfare packages will be available to you in various barracks and cantonments across the country.
The Chief of Administration (Army), Maj.-Gen. Usman Muhammed, said the valedictory dinner was the first of its kind in the history of the Nigerian Army.
Muhammed said in the past it was only the service chief and a few senior officers who held strategic appointments at the time of their disengagement that had hitherto been treated to such a ceremony.
According to him, most senior officers retired without being treated to any ceremony to mark their official exit from the service.
He said it was against that backdrop that the COAS directed that a more befitting disengagement process be explored for retiring senior officers of the Nigerian Army.