The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Faruk Yahaya, has inaugurated welfare flight for soldiers and officers of Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK) who are proceeding on a pass to and from the theatre of war in the North East.
This was made known in a statement by the spokesperson of the Nigerian Army, Onyema Nwachukwu who disclosed that the COAS launched the welfare flight on Monday at the Air Force Base in Maiduguri, Borno State.
The statement reads, “Lieutenant General Yahaya in his remarks said the welfare of troops is one of his cardinal focus for the Nigerian Army and it is in this regard that the initiative was birthed in order to ease the movement of the personnel of OPHK by addressing problems such as distance and other associated challenges while proceeding on a pass to see their family and loved ones.”
According to the statement, the Chief of Air Staff, Marshal Isiaka Amao provided the Nigerian Air Force Charlie-130 aircraft with the view of flying troops of the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN), personnel of other security agencies, as well as civilian staff of the AFN from Maiduguri to different parts of the country.
“He stated that the flight would be twice a month to meet the two weeks duration of leave passes in the theatre, He added that personnel leaving on the pass will be granted.
The COAS further directed that all security measures must be strictly adhered to, as troops will be thoroughly searched, cleared and documented before boarding the flight”, the statement further reads.
The schedule of the welfare flight is scheduled to operate in three main hubs, namely Abuja, Lagos, and Maiduguri.
Troops from Abuja will be housed and managed at the Nigerian Army Forward Operational Base, while those in Lagos will be at Ikeja Cantonment and those in Maiduguri will be at the Headquarters Theatre Command.
Yahaya thanked President Buhari for his guidance and also extended his gratitude to the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen. Bashir Magashi (retd.), the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor, and other service chiefs for their support in this project.
