DELTA State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, has said the establishment of an Air Defence Unit of the 83 Division of the Nigerian Army in the state will strengthen security and protect critical national assets, adding that the newly-created Division, comprising Delta, Edo and Bayelsa states, would improve the Army’s capacity to respond to security threats across the three states.
Oborevwori stated that the Air Defence Unit was being established in Delta because of the state’s strategic location and proximity to the airport, adding that the state government had provided land for a temporary facility, while arrangements were being made for a permanent site.
A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Festus Ahon, on Thursday, October 8, said the governor, while inspecting facilities and ongoing work for the establishment of the unit in the state, disclosed that between 300 and 400 military soldiers were expected to arrive in the state within the next few weeks, noting: “We need to support the security agencies because without security, there cannot be development.”
Oborevwori said the improved security situation in the state had contributed to a reduction in armed robbery, kidnapping and other violent crimes, enthusing that the new military formation would also help secure oil and gas infrastructure and other critical national assets in the state.
The governor assured that the state government would continue to support the military and other security agencies in providing the facilities required for their operations, directing the commissioners for Housing, as well as Lands to commence the assessment and scoping of the temporary site, including existing structures that required attention.
Oborevwori, who was accompanied by the Chief of Standards and Evaluation, Nigerian Army, Maj-Gen. Thompson Ugiagbe, and the Commander, 63 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Brig-Gen. Ibrahim Buhari, said security remained a priority of his administration.
He urged the military and other security agencies to sustain their collaboration with the state government and other stakeholders.
