Matilda Omonaiye/
The Nigerian Navy has set sail to open operational base in the Coal City State, Enugu, says the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogalla.
According to Vice Admiral Ogalla, the operational base is needed to improve the security of lives and property by securing the state’s coastal areas.
Ogalla spoke in Enugu during his visit to the State earlier today.
He disclosed that the Nigerian Navy has three primary roles, which includes the military role, being the protection of the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty from the maritime domain; the policing role; as well as the diplomatic role. He said that the Navy had not really extended its policing roles to Enugu State and that the time had come to do that.
He noted that Enugu State has a navigable river around Uzo Uwani local govt area and that plans are on ground to extend Naval operations to encompass and cover the broader spectrum of the State, maintaining that the river used to be a seaport during the colonial era, but it has been abandoned.
He sought the support of the Enugu State government for the initiative towards showing presence within the Uzo Uwani seaway, stressing that with a better policing of the area, it will give assurances to investors, who will now invest in the development of that seaway for the benefit of the people of Enugu State.
“Our operations there will be aimed at providing internal security operations both through area surveillance and patrol in such a manner that economic activities can thrive without hindrance,” he said.
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