Mohammed Shosanya
The General Officer Commanding (GOC), 6 Division, Nigerian Army, Major General Jamal Abdussalam, has tied the recent improvement in the country’s crude oil production to the doggedness and commitment of the Nigerian Army in tackling illegal oil bunkering in the Niger Delta.
Major General Abdussalam,who is also the Land Component Commander, Joint Task Force, South South, Operation Delta Safe,disclosed this at a 3-day finance workshop, organised by the Nigerian Army 6 Division, Port Harcourt for its personnel, themed: “Personnel Capacity Development: A Panacea to Proactive and Efficient Financial Service Delivery,” on Thursday.
In his welcome address,Major General Abdussalam recalled that the data recently released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which indicated an improvement in crude oil production was as a result of the army’s operational zero tolerance for illegal oil bunkering in the country.
He said, “May I use this medium to reaffirm my commitment to ensure that 6 Division continues to guarantee the security of lives and properties, as well as safeguarding key national infrastructure within our area of responsibility.
“This is in line with my vision to have a proactive and result oriented attitude among officers and soldiers of 6 Division for sustainable operational tempo in the joint environment.
“The doggedness and unwavering commitment of personnel of 6 Division in the face daunting security challenges in South South is highly impressive, recently released data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission indicates that Nigeria crude oil output grew from 1.185 million barrels per day in December 2023 to 1.281,478 million barrels per day for the month of April in 2024.
“This has been possible through our invigorated operations geared towards zero illegal activities, to sustain these achievements, all hands must be on deck to ensure the output continues to rise.”
Major General Abdussalam, emphasised that troops of the division had became efficient and result-oriented in the discharge of their duties following intermittent capacity trainings, adding that the army in the same vein was building its personnel capacity to handle the dynamics of current financial management.
”My command has thus prioritised training as a tool for personnel capacity building, relatedly, the 6 Division Finance being the nerve center of the division must strategize in the training of its personnel in order to be more active and show absolute competence in discharging its role to the division, they must continue to learn and adapt to many financial policies brought about the federal government in order to handle the dynamics of current financial revolution as it relates to the Nigerian Army.
“This is aimed at bringing up to speed direct regular officers to be on the same pedestal with their regular combatant colleagues. Training as the bedrock of military professionalism is aimed at unlocking the potentials of our personnel, through training, we can collectively achieve the mission of the Chief of Army Staff, which is to have a professional Nigerian army, ready to accomplish any assigned missions within the joint environment in defence of Nigeria.”
Earlier, the Chief of Accounts and Budget (Army), Major General A. Fayemwo, in his opening remarks, explained that the training was designed to address the training needs of finance officers and soldiers at the division.
Major General Fayemwo,who was represented by Major General Samson Jiya, Group Managing Director, Nigerian Army Welfare Limited by Guarantee, added that the training provided a veritable platform for the finance officers and soldiers at the division to be updated in financial best practices as it relates to accounting for army funds.
“Training is one of the pillars of the Chief of Army Staff command philosophy which is to transform the Nigerian Army into a well trained, equipped and highly motivated force towards achieving our constitutional responsibilities within a joint environment.
“The Division Finance training week is designed to address the training needs of finance officers and soldiers at the division level. It provides a good platform for updating personnel on contemporary government financial policies, financial best practices and their implications on accounting for the Nigerian Army funds.”