The immediate past Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo, on Saturday declared that he was fulfilled having served and handing the mantle of leadership over to the new Chief of Naval Staff, Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ogalla.
Gambo stated this at the pulling/sailing out ceremony held in his honour at the NNS Quorra Parade Ground in Apapa Lagos.
Enlisted into the Nigerian Defence Academy as a member of the 36 Regular Course on 24 Sept. 1984, Gambo was commissioned Sub-Lieutenant on 24 October, 1989 on successful completion of the military training at the Academy.
He rose through the ranks and was promoted to the rank of a Vice Admiral when he was appointed as the 21st indigenous CNS on 26 January, 2021.
The colourful ceremony had in attendance past chiefs of naval staff, top serving officers of the Nigeria Military as well as maritime stakeholders.
Fielding questions after his official valedictory speech, Gambo said he was leaving a resilient navy that is capable of its best operations of securing the nation’s maritime domain and other roles expected of it.
He expressed confidence of greater operational successes as the navy leverages on the use of technology and has been able to record feats including tackling piracy and other maritime-related offences.
“ The Nigerian navy has leveraged highly on technology for its operations, which has made it more result-oriented and cost-effective, in the sense that we don’t need to deploy most of our capital ships out there at sea to keep pursuing culprits of maritime offenders.
“From the comfort of all the operational commands, the Nigerian navy can vector any maritime-offending ship or platform or human being; being they pirates, sea robbers and all that, to be able to undertake arrest and prosecute them through the instrumentality of the SPOMO Act (Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences) of 2019, which was promulgated as expressed by the imprisonment of 12 pirates in July 2021.
“So, I will say the Navy is continuously improving in its operations and strategies to combat maritime crime, and to support our neighbours and the entire Gulf of Guinea. And of course, our international partners who come here all the time.
“Here, we are looking at over 1500 vessels that transit or berth in our ports every day. So, you can imagine the volume of shipping traffic that comes to Nigeria. I will say that I am a fulfilled 21st indigenous Chief of the Naval Staff, and I am leaving the navy in the capable hands of Rear Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla, who will also come and add value and improve, with the support of men and officers of the Nigerian navy, to take the navy to higher heights for the economic stability and prosperity of our country Nigeria,” the former CNS said.
He emphasised that Illegal oil bunkering had been brought to its lowest ebb as a result of the navy’s operation ‘Dakatar da barawo’ (meaning “stop the thieves” in Hausa language), initiated under his watch.
