Nigerian Armed Forces Retires 295 Military Personnel from Active Service

Chiemelie Ezeobi

After their 35 meritorious years of service to the nation, about 295 military personnel drawn from the Nigerian Army (NA), Nigerian Air Force (NAF) and Nigerian Navy (NN), have been penciled down for retirement.

The retirement is coming at the heels of their six months intensive training on skill acquisition and entrepreneurship at the Nigerian Armed Forces Resettlement Centre (NAFRC), Oshodi, Lagos.

The training was to ease the retirees out of military service to rejoin the society as civilians.

The 295 crop of military retirees will join the over 41,500 personnel of the Armed Forces, who have in the past benefited from military sponsored vocational training courses since 1945, when the centre was established.

Thus, to prepare them for their post service life, NAFRC has over the last six months trained the 295 personnel, comprising 270 from the army, 18 from the navy and seven from the air force, with skills for self reliance.

According to NAFRC Commandant, Air Vice Marshal Ajibola Jekennu, more than 40,000 retirees have benefitted from the scheme and were doing well in their chosen businesses.

He said the initiative was to enable the beneficiaries seamlessly adjust and appropriately blend with the envisaged peculiarities of retirement.

He said, “They are expected, while in retirement and active socio-economic activities, to continue to positively contribute to the achievement of national objectives. This is in fulfillment of the mandate of NAFRC, at inception in 1945.

“Available records indicate that more than 40,500 retirees who got re-educated in NAFRC are outstanding entrepreneurs and could hold their own anywhere.

“NAFRC has recorded some modest achievements in enabling wealth creation and hike in living standards among most retired personnel of the Armed Forces.

“More concerted efforts are ongoing to expand the training scope in NAFRC through the participation of retiring commissioned officers.

“Currently, retiring officers of the Armed Forces are being trained by the Centre in partnership with EMPRETEC Nigeria Foundation and the Pan Atlantic University. More than 300 retired officers have been trained in entrepreneurship and managerial skills through the partnership.”

Meanwhile, he said the passing out ceremony for the Course 1/2017, will hold on June 16, 2017 and will have the Minister for Defence, Mansur Dan Ali in attendance.

On the review of the mandate for the center he said, “The bill for the review of the mandate to turn NAFRC into a National Institute is still being processed. At the end, the institute will become a degree awarding centre.”

This means that when the center is turned into an institute, it will be open to civilians and also afford the military the opportunity to train its officers who are due for retirement.

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