The Nigerian Chief of Naval Staff, CNS, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo has charged Nigerian Navy warrant officers to promote professionalism and effective human resource development in the service.
Admiral Gambo made this remark at the Third Nigerian Navy Warrant Officers Convention holding at the Admiralty Conference Center, Naval Dockyard Limited, Lagos with the theme “Optimising Nigerian Navy Operations through Effective Warrant Officers’ Leadership”.
In his keynote address, the CNS said that the feedback from the implementation of recommendations from the maiden edition of the Convention held in 2016 spurred him to sustain the annual Warrant Officers Convention on the Nigerian Navy Events.
He further stated that the Nigerian Navy has every reason to be proud of the giant strides achieved in reducing illegalities.
According to him, “the Navy has every reason to be proud as our collective efforts have sufficiently reduced illegalities such as; crude oil theft, illegal bunkering, piracy, kidnapping, smuggling, militancy and pipeline vandalism in our maritime domain. It is equally gratifying that we have continued to give a very good account of ourselves in support of the other Services in the ongoing counter-insurgency operations, especially in the North East. These successes would not have been possible without an enlightened and professional human resource. The Warrant Officers cadre, play a pivotal role to these successes .”
Collective Efforts
Vice Admiral Gambo further stated that the Navy need to collectively strive to build a credible Navy capable of discharging its constitutional roles in a sustainable, efficient and effective manner.
He called for continuous enlightenment and deliberate re-awakening of the tenets of professionalism and excellent work ethics among naval personnel.
Expectations
The Naval boss said he has high expectations from the Convention , as Warrant Officers are expected to be experienced, visible and professionally sound.
To him, Warrant Officers are key players in the lower level of the Nigerian Navy command structure and custodians of unit regimentation, therefore they are well positioned to instill discipline within the lower chain of command and to maintain naval customs and traditions.
Support to the Armed Forces
While commending the government’s continued support to the Nigerian Navy, Admiral Gambo stated that President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged his total support to the Armed Forces in its current campaign to restore the territorial integrity of the nation.
The CNS urged the participants to continue to be loyal, patriotic, diligent and disciplined.
He promised to judiciously apply all allocated resources as evidenced by the ongoing acquisition of an unprecedented number of boats, aggressive renovation and construction of barracks across the various Nigerian Navy establishments amongst others.
He once again reiterated his commitment to investing in quality training and education, motivation and welfare of personnel at all levels.
Participants at the convention were drawn from the various naval units and establishments across the country.
The event avails presenters and discussants both serving and retired naval personnel the opportunity to proffer needed ideas that would enhance the human resource capacity of the Nigerian Navy as it concerns the Warrant Officers and other ratings.
Confidence Okwuchi
