President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday commissioned a newly acquired warship NNS UNITY, two locally built warships and 27 patrol boats at the Nigerian Navy Dockyard, Lagos.
Speaking at the commissioning, he tasked the Nigeria Navy on prudent management of its resources.
He stressed that the country was at a critical period, where it is confronted with dwindling revenue, a situation that requires prudence in the management of available resources.
He commended the Navy for sustaining its capacity to cope with maritime challenges, saying that the navy has increased its capacity to police Nigeria’s maritime space.
He commended the Navy for her role in diplomacy and leadership capacity in the West African region.
President Buhari also commended the navy in the fight against oil theft, illegal bunkering, and pipeline vandalism, and its role in the fight against insurgency in the North Eastern part of the country.
He, however, assured the Navy that government will continue to enhance its requirements based on available resources.
“We shall help the Nigerian Navy in training, capacity building, infrastructure, and welfare of officers,” he said.
President Buhari also commended Sino-Nigeria partnership, which produced one of the commissioned ships, NNS UNITY.
On its local shipbuilding initiative, which produced two of the commissioned ships, NNS KARADUWA and Tug COMMANDER UGWU, President Buhari expressed satisfaction with the Nigerian Navy’s feat, urging indigenous engineers to follow in this part.
He continued, “I want local partners to share in this Nigerian Navy shipbuilding initiative. It is heart-warming to note that you (Navy) did not confine your efforts to foreign technology alone, but embarked on local construction of these ships.”
Buhari, who arrived Lagos on Thursday, was received at the Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos by Governor Akinwunmi Ambode before heading to the Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island. The president was accompanied by the Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola and army chiefs.
The Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete-Ibas, said the addition of the ships will enhance the seaworthiness of the Nigerian Navy, saying the ships would be used to maintain credible presence in the nation’s maritime space, dominate the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone, as well as maintain sanity in the Nation’s waterways.
