Posted by From Madu Onuorah, Abuja on
THE Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has effected a major redeployment in its top echelon , affecting seven Air Vice Marshals.....
THE Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has effected a major redeployment in its top echelon , affecting seven Air Vice Marshals (AVMs) and 23 Commodores (Air Cdres). An AVM is equivalent to an army Major-General while an Air Commodore is the equivalent of a Brigadier-General.
The exercise also saw Group Captain Emeka Ozoemena emerging as the new Director of Public Relations and Information (DOPRI) of the Force. His predecessor, Group Captain Ibrahim Kure is billed for his War College course overseas.
The former Air Officer Commanding (AOC) Training Command, AVM Olufemi Faloyin has now moved to the Headquarters (HQ) NAF as the Air Officer Operations (AOO). The former AOO, AVM Nelson Dilli is now the AOC Tactical Air Command (TAC), a position made vacant by the appointment of Air Marshal Dike as Chief of the Air Staff. Former Director of Operations, Defence Headquarters, AVM Femi Gbadebo, now moves to the Training Command as the AOC.
AVM Sesan Awofodu moves from the Inspectorate branch of HQ NAF where he served as Air Officer Inspections (AOI) AVM Osita Obierika, formerly Defence Adviser, Nigerian Embassy, Paris has moved to HQ NAF, as the AOI. In the same vein, Air Commodore Chris Marizu, formerly the Director of Administration, Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (AFRC) Oshodi, Lagos, moves to the Logistics Command Ikeja, Lagos as the AOC. AVM BA Kotti, formerly, Deputy Commandant, Nigerian Defence Academy, Kaduna moves to DHQ as the Director of Electronics Warfare. In the same vein, AVM SA Atti moves to the DHQ as the Director of Operations.
Other redeployments include Air Commodores MB Adeniyi, Deputy Commandant, NDA; AE Okafor, Senior Air Staff Officer (SASO), TC; BG Dambaba, SASO - Logistics Command; OO Petinrin, SASO - TAC, AJ Obaisa, Commander (Cmd) 401 Aircraft Maintenance Depot Lagos; JD Awein, Cmd, 305 Flying Training School Enugu; LO Ararile, managing director of the NAF Foundation, the welfare and business arm of the service.
Others include Air Commodores Ikechukwu Nnamani, Coordinator, Projects Implementation Team, HQ NAF; FO Salubi, Comamnder, Air Weapons Groups; DJ Otaru, Director of Manuals, JE Ode, Director of Training, SA Leks, Director of Safety; EB Fisher, Director of Regimentation (all in HQ NAF). They also include JA Udo, Director of Administration, AFRC Oshodi; IO Oguntiyi - Directing Staff, National War College Abuja.
Redeployed as Commanders include Air Commodores AR Okanlawon - 303 Flying Training School Kaduna; TP Shawon - STG Yola; IO Babalola - Air Weapon Training School, Kainji, MD Umar - 302 Flying Training School Kaduna; T Dick-Iruenabere - Group Training Group; WA Oguejiofor - Base Service Group Makurdi; AT Muazu - Base Service Group Kaduna and JO Oshoniyi - NAF Base Ikeja.
Group Captain Ozoemena, who confirmed the redeployment said it was to forestall conflicting reports and misrepresentations on the exercise which he described as "routine."
Meanwhile, Chief of Air the Staff, Air Marshal Paul Dike has argued that a pro-acti ve evaluation system would spur the service into a more efficient maintenance of standards.
He made the declaration at a two-day workshop on Inspectors Branch Evaluation and Research Development in Abuja.
Air Marshal Dike said that the workshop would help the NAF to "ensure the maintenance of set standards, continuous evaluation of aircrew training, periodic tactical evaluation of operational units and the evaluation of NAF logistics management." Unfortunately, however, according to him, " the relatively low tempo of activities occasioned by low aircraft availability has not made the importance of evaluation in the NAF to be easily appreciated."
He added: " As we gradually build up the tempo of activities in the service, I expect to see a very proactive evaluation system that will spur the entire the entire service into a more efficient system."