Lt. General Taoreed Lagbaja, Chief of Army Staff, has reaffirmed the Nigerian Army’s commitment to democratic governance, rejecting calls for military intervention.
Lt-Gen Lagbaja stated this on Tuesday, August 27, in his opening remarks at the 2024 Chief of Army Staff combined second and third quarters conference held in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom state capital.
He said that the Nigerian Army was still struggling to restore its integrity after many years of military rule and hence is not ready to lose its prestige built in the past 25 years of staying out of power.
Lagbaja emphasized the Army’s focus on combating physical insecurity, food crisis, and maintaining territorial integrity. He highlighted initiatives to boost food production, partnerships with government and private sectors, and security cover for farmers.
Evidently, the situation that led to the protest seems to have settled, but the Nigerian Army understands that the issue of food security will remain on the front burner of our national security policy and discussions for a while.
“As a way of strengthening its soft power approach to resolving Nigeria’s food security challenge, the Nigerian Army will, in the coming days, review its agricultural policy to better position the Nigerian Army Farms and Ranches Limited to significantly boost crop production so that the Army can release grains into the market at highly subsidized rate in support of government efforts.
“Furthermore, the Army Headquarters is reviewing some proposals for partnerships with Ministries, Departments, and Agencies of government and reputable private organizations on how best to collaborate to resolve the food crisis in the country.
“Relatedly, Nigerian Army troops currently provide security cover for farmers in critical farming communities in the North East, North West, and North Central zones. This is to prevent the devastating consequences of a pause or stop in food production in those regions on the entire country’s food supply chain”, he said.
The COAS expressed appreciation for President Bola Tinubu’s support and strategic guidance, as well as Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno’s consistent backing.
Governor Eno thanked the Nigerian Army for maintaining peace and security, requesting a new battalion in the Oron federal constituency to reinforce the state’s security architecture.
