Over 2,000 intakes undergoing naval training – Naval chief

The Nigerian Navy says it is currently training over 2,000 new intakes to support other security agencies in internal security operations in the country.

Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Naval Training Command (NAVTRAC), Rear Adm. Obi Ofodile, disclosed this while on familiarisation tour of navy training school in Onne, Rivers State.

Ofodile also said that the navy was currently upgrading its facilities and expanding its training programmes to meet with expected high intake into the service.

According to him, the navy was not unmindful of the need for quality training for both new intakes and officers and ratings.

“The Nigerian navy has been increasing its intake of new trainees but cannot just make significant increase overnight otherwise it would produce half-baked personnel.

“The reason for curtailing number of new intakes is that the facilities have to be directly proportional to the number of intakes.

“However, the Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS) Vice Adm. Ibok-Ete Ibas, is currently providing new facilities and improving existing ones to take care of the number that we want.

“Also, new buildings equipped with state-of-the-art facilities are springing up aimed to improve personnel proficiency to perform their duties professionally and efficiently,” he said.

Ofodile said that the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School (NNBTS); Nigerian Navy College (NNC) and the recently inaugurated Nigerian War College would drive its training programmes.

He said aside infrastructure development the CNS was equally passionate to expanding its training programme for effective service delivery to the country.

The naval chief said that paucity of funds had partly affected the desire of the navy to expand its training programmes to accommodate more personnel.

“Just as the saying goes: if a person pays N10 for security, the individual will get N10 security – meaning that if an individual wants quality security then he or she has to pay for it.

“It is in this vein that the CNS has been supporting NAVTRAC with means to maintain quality training and retraining of personnel in the navy,” he said.