Defence Minister receives report to facilitate security sector reforms

The Minister of Defence Maj Gen Bashir Salihi Magashi (rtd) has assured Nigerians that the Federal Government is leveraging the option of reform of the National Defence architecture to end insecurity in the  Country.

General Magashi stated this at the formal presentation of the report of the Committee to facilitate the reform of the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces of Nigeria, held at the National Defence College, Abuja.

A statement issued by Mohammad Abdulkadri Special Assistant Media and Publicity to the Minister of Defence and sent to Solacebase on Wednesday said that Magashi noted that the reform which is in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s intent to emplace a robust, repositioned and result-oriented military sector for improved performance in the discharge of constitutional mandate is expedient especially now that the nation is combating internal security challenges.

‘’While appreciating what he described as the groundbreaking patriotic efforts of the Committee, the Defence Minister assured that the recommendations made in the report by the Committee will be painstakingly perused with a view to implementing them courageously for the betterment of all Nigerians, said the statement.

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‘’The Committee Chairman, retired Air Vice Marshal Mohammed Ndatsu Umaru said the over two hundred and fifty- page report contains over seventy recommendations as well as drawn up strategies to facilitate their implementation.’’

‘’AVM Umaru identified key issues in the recommendations relating to policies on recruitment, promotion, retirement, funding and managing Military Operations as well as the need to accord priority attention to Research and Development (R & D) and restructuring of Defence Industrial Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), ‘’said the statement.

‘’He, therefore, appealed to the Minister of Defence Maj Gen Magashi to hasten the  implementation of the recommendations and to constitute a high-level advisory team for the reform of the Ministry of Defence based on the current Defence Policy.’’

‘’In their separate remarks, the Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola and the Chief of Defence Staff, General Leo Irabor lauded the patriotic zeal of the convener of the Committee, Minister of Defence for taking the bull by the horns for the reform and gave kudos to the Committee for turning in the report within the stipulated time frame.’’

‘’The 21- man committee was inaugurated by the Minister of Defence in February this year at the Ministry of Defence Headquarters, Abuja with a ten-point term of reference contained in the convening order.’’