By Olayemi Esan
As part of the efforts to reinvigorate a sense of aspiration, leadership and strive for excellence in the ratings cadre, the Nigerian Navy on Friday decorated 12 Senior Non Commissioned Officers (SNCOs) as Lieutenants under its activated concessional commission provision in the HTACOS Officers 2017 (Revised)”.
In his remark, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo, said:”The provisions of the Concessional Commission allow for outstanding personnel of the rank of Master Warrant Officers and above or equivalent who possess exemplary leadership qualities and have distinguished themselves through hard work, dedication and meritorious service to be commissioned as officers in the Armed Forces of Nigeria”.
CNS recalled that during his inaugural address on assumption of Command as the Chief of the Naval Staff, he stressed that the ‘man’ remains the most critical and important factor of military operations, in addition he noted that Nigerian Navy personnel that exhibit high integrity, commitment and positive attributes that portray the Nigerian Navy in good light shall be rewarded handsomely.
“Today, I am glad to observe that the Nigerian Navy under my watch has matched words with actions by placing a high premium on human capacity development with the introduction of several motivational incentives towards enhancing the human resource output for optimal operational efficiency of the Nigerian Navy.
“Pertinently within the last one year, several conferences, retreats and seminars geared towards human capacity building were held including the Third Nigerian Navy Warrant Officers’ Convention. Significantly, the resolutions of the Convention played a pivotal role towards the establishment of the Office of the Nigerian Navy ‘Chief Boatswain Mate’. This was in recognition of the importance and the critical role the ‘Admiral of the Lower Deck’ plays in the leadership and mentoring process of the ratings cadre”.
Advising the newly promoted officers, the CNS said, “you are to also avoid any act that could bring disrepute to the Nigerian Navy and by extension the nation in general. May I also add that a lot will be expected of you as newly commissioned officers given your experience and pedigree in the Service, especially in the light of the contemporary security challenges our nation faces. These challenges call for dedication, selflessness, professionalism, chivalry and teamwork”.