President Muhammadu Buhari has today after meeting with the newly appointed service chiefs charged them to serve with patriotism and deliver well on their mandate. Presidential Spokesperson on media and publicity, Femi Adesina stated this on behalf of President Buhari, he quoted the President saying; “We’re in a state of emergency. Be patriotic; serve the country well, as your loyalty is to the country.” Buhari congratulated the newly appointed service chiefs for their new assignment saying; “There’s nothing I can tell you about the service because you are in it. I was also in it, and I will pray for you. I also assure you that whatever I can do as Commander-in-Chief will be done, so that the people will appreciate your efforts.
“You know the stage we were in 2015, you know the stage we are now, and the undertakings we made. We promised to secure the country, revive the economy, and fight corruption. None has been easy, but we have certainly made progress.”
According to the president while advising his service chiefs, said they should be more concerned about their personnel morale as it is critical in times like this when the military is overwhelmed with lots of security problems.
The president promised them that the government would do its best to ensure that the military hardware is made readily available for their operation as well as logistics.
The Minister of Defence, Major Gen. Bashir Magashi (Rtd) lead the service Chiefs into the meeting. They were: Maj.-Gen. Lucky Irabor, Chief of Defence Staff; Maj.-Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, Chief of Army Staff; Rear Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, Chief of Naval Staff; and AVM Isiaka Amao, Chief of Air Staff.
Briefing newsmen shortly after the meeting, Gen. Irabor said, the military would work towards ensuring that the Nigerian populace sleep with their two eyes closed.
In his statement, “We have just seen Mr. President and we are mindful of the demands. We can only at this stage pledge our utmost best to bring safety and security to lives and properties across the country.’’
The CDS added that values must be added to the lives of Nigerians and that is not negotiable.
According to him, he assured Nigerians that there shall be peace and security to the Nigerian citizens. He expressed optimism that peace shall be witnessed once more.
While stating what they discussed with Mr. President, the CDS said, Mr. President is very clear as he is concerned with the security situation in the country, and has directed that the armed forces should do anything within their reach to bring calmness to the country.
He acknowledged that expectation is high and they are determining to work towards achieving that.