The Nigerian Navy is billed to take several ships, helicopters and other platforms into its inventory before the end of the year, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla, has said.
He made this known at the Interdenominational Church Service in commemoration of the 68th Anniversary Celebration, on Sunday in Abuja.
Ogalla said the new ships and platforms were in continuation of the fleet renewal effort of the navy through the support of President Bola Tinubu’s administration and his commitment to make the service more efficient
The CNS said that three more ships and two more helicopters would be inaugurated and operationalised on May 30 in Lagos, as part of the Navy week activities.
“We want to also use this opportunity to commend our efforts, particularly in the area of fleet renewal.
“Through the unflinching support of the President, Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, President Bola Tinubu, the Nigerian Navy is billed to take into his inventory several ships, particularly on May 30 this year.
“We are commissioning three more ships and two more helicopters.
“This is in addition to several other Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) that are coming from different parts of the world.
“We have two OPVs that are coming from Turkey, which are billed to come in the third quarter of this year; we also have three that are coming from China this year,” he said.
Ogalla said the navy’s fleet renewal effort had been given serious boost through its local shipbuilding effort, saying it had become a cardinal point of his vision.
This, according to him, is in realisation that the only way to grow as a navy was to make sure that it tapped into local content in all its key areas of development of which shipbuilding is part of.
He added that the service also recognised that shipbuilding and ship repairs would contribute effectively to the overall growth of the economy.
“I am happy to announce to you that we are making tremendous efforts in our Seaward Defence Boat (SDB-3) and SDB-4 and 5 which are under construction at the Naval Dockyard Limited, Lagos.
“All these could not have been possible without the commitment of our officers, ratings and civilian staff,” he added.
The Navy Chief said the “Navy at 68” was worth celebrating considering the giant stride it had continued to make in its constitutional role of defending the nation’s territorial integrity and sovereignty, particularly from the maritime domain.
He said the navy had achieved tremendous results in several areas, most importantly in the area of operations where it had been able to check all the illegalities within the maritime environment.
According to him, navy, in the last one year, has also done well in the area of personnel welfare, by carrying out projects and activities that will impact maximally on the officers and ratings.
He, therefore, urged them to work hard and redouble their efforts to ensure that they achieve even more in the years ahead.
In his sermon, the Director, Chaplain Services (Roman Catholic), Navy Capt. Robert Oparaji, admonished officers and ratings to imbibe the spirit of dedication, patriotism and fear of God in discharging their duties.
Oparaji, a Rev. Father, preached on God’s Goodness and Love and prayed for God’s guidance for the leadership of the navy to continue to lead the service in the right direction.
He said that the navy had been at the forefront of safeguarding the nation’s crude oil and maritime assets, praying for more successes and safety of all personnel involved in all operations.
