Ten officers of the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps (NAAC) have retired from active service after fulfilling the required years of service. Abuja City Journals reported on Friday that the departing officers included six Major-Generals and four Brigadier-Generals. This significant event followed closely on the heels of Chief of Army Staff Lieutenant-General Taoreed Lagbaja’s commissioning of the newly constructed NAAC headquarters complex at Obienu Barracks in Bauchi.

The retiring officers were Major-General Nsor Okpa Ojiji, Major-General MH Magaji, Major-General GB Audu, Major-General M Danmadami, Major-General JG Mohammed, Major-General UI Mohammed, Brigadier-General A. Israel, Brigadier-General BA Mohammed, Brigadier-General D. Abdulsalam, and Brigadier-General SP Akpan.

Major-General Ojiji expressed his gratitude for the tradition of honoring retiring officers and urged for its continuation. He reflected on the challenges faced by the NAAC, which included inadequate accommodation and insufficient professional and medical facilities. However, he noted significant improvements in recent times.

“We recall that the Nigerian Army Armoured Corps (NAAC) has faced numerous challenges, ranging from poor accommodation to inadequate professional and medical facilities. Today, however, I am happy to note the presence of many functional accommodation blocks and a welcoming ambience in these barracks. Many resources and efforts have transformed the situation, which is heartwarming. Kudos to the commander NAAC, his team of officers, soldiers, and their families, who are determined to improve the corps,” Ojiji stated.

Despite these advancements, Ojiji highlighted the issue of poor equipment grading in formations and units, stressing the need for addressing this challenge to enhance service delivery to the nation. He appealed to the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar, to prioritize this issue during his tenure.

“We hope that the Minister of Defence, Alhaji Badaru Abubakar, makes addressing this challenge a cardinal objective during his tenure. I plead with the Hon. Minister through this medium to deem it fit to do so,” he added.

The commandant of the Armoured Corps, Major General Mohammed Ahmed, expressed mixed emotions about the retirement of the senior officers. He conveyed his gratitude and satisfaction at witnessing the ceremony, acknowledging the contributions of the retiring officers.

“I feel grateful, satisfied, and highly honored to have witnessed a day filled with mixed feelings and emotions as we pull out the retired senior officers. We are happy we did what we should do. We carry out a lot of services to the community, ranging from free medical services to the provision of pipe-borne water, among others. If the community informs us about their problems, we promptly attend to them,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed also emphasized the ongoing efforts to maintain and develop the capacity of the Nigerian Army, noting that no army in the world has enough resources but that the NAAC has highly maintained equipment.

“There is no army in the world that has enough, and the Nigerian Army has developed its capacity to the level that you can see in most of our equipment, which is highly maintained,” he added.

He wished the retiring officers well in their future civilian endeavors and encouraged them to remain available for consultations and advice to continue improving the Armoured Corps.