The Nigerian Air Force has said the remarks of the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, on the end of Boko Haram insurgency were misrepresented by the media.
Abubakar, while speaking at the Headquarters of the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE in Maiduguri on Saturday, had said the Nigerian Air Force would round off its operation ‘latest by the end of this year’.
According to a statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, Nigerian Air Force, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, on Sunday, the Air Chief’s remarks were solely to encourage the troops.
The statement read in parts: ”The attention of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has been drawn to publications in some media insinuating that the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, during a recent operational visit to the Headquarters of the Air Task Force (ATF) of Operation LAFIYA DOLE, Maiduguri on 4 July 2020, promised that the NAF would “end the war on Boko Haram by the end of the Year 2020”.
”For the benefit of the general public, it must be noted that the CAS, in saying that “…. very soon, at least before the end of the year, we should be rounding up this operation or latest by the end of this year. So work towards that and be rest assured that the Nigerian Air Force will support you”, never suggested that the ATF would single-handedly end the war on Boko Haram. Instead, the CAS was setting a target for the ATF to encourage and spur it on, to focus all its energy and resources towards achievement.”
