Nigeria Content Online

The Acting President, Goodluck Jonathan, Thursday commended the
Nigerian Armed Forces for their loyalty and respect for civil authority and the
rule of law.

He stated this when he inaugurated a new barracks named after
late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua yesterday in Asokoro, Abuja.

He commended the army for being consciously subordinate to civil
authority, and urged them to continue their efforts. He said it is a hallmark
of the loyalty which the country expects from them. He also urged them to
maintain the high level of professionalism and healthy civil-military relations
they have shown so far.

Mr. Jonathan assured the military of the federal government’s
commitment to its welfare, saying its members “are daily confronted with the
realities of [the] dearth of comfortable accommodation, particularly in the
Federal Capital Territory.”

Commenting on the efforts of army engineers who put up the
barracks, Mr. Jonathan said he was impressed that “for the first time in the
history of our existence as a nation, our army has been able to bring its
professional expertise to bear in the concept, designing, and actual
construction of an entire army barracks for the use of its personnel.”

He expressed optimism that, as the Nigerian army had single-handedly
managed a project of this magnitude at such reduced cost, the defence sector
has the capacity to undertake any engineering project successfully and can
compete favourably in the industry.

Army’s response

The Chief of Army Staff, Abdulrahman Dambazau, thanked the
federal government for its unflinching support towards the building of the
barracks, which has underscored the government’s commitment to the welfare of
the military.

He said that with the completion of the barracks, 105 of the
families of military personnel would be accommodated and, by June this year,
another 105 families would be accommodated. He noted that the building project
was conceived in August 2008 by the Nigerian Army’s engineers under their
direct labour scheme, and this had cut down cost by more than 80 percent.

He explained that the barracks is named after late Shehu Musa Yar’Adua in
recognition of his contributions to the development of the Nigerian army.