The Chief of Air Staff (COAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, yesterday said the Nigerian Air Force deployed its personnel in the Niger Delta to help in combating crimes in the region, stressing that the action was intended to resolve the crime situation in the region.

The COAS, who said the NAF would continue to work hard to ensure that every community in the country is secured, especially those in the maritime environment, said the move was imperative since the region produces the bulk of country’s resources.

Abubakar, who said this in Yenagoa, when he paid a one-day working visit to Bayelsa State, said the special force was in the region to complement the ongoing Operation Restore Hope.

He said: “What we are just doing is to make sure that we complement and add value to what is on ground.

“We have this special force on ground and we are planning to add more so that it will add to whatever security architect that are on ground. I believe that their coming here will certainly add value to what is on ground.”

While thanking Governor Seriake Dickson for the support extended to secure the state, Abubakar said NAF will continue to collaborate with the state government for a better society.

He added: “The Nigerian Air Force is working hard to ensure that we have a disciplined and professional air force. An air force that will have the right structure and an air force that will have powerful disposition that will be able to deal with the challenges of the 21st century.

“Our mobility here will ensure that there is a beehive of activities as soon as the airport here is commissioned.”

The COAS charged his men to keep working hard to take care of every Nigerian and make sure that Nigerians were able to go about their normal businesses.

Earlier, Dickson had said the state needed a collaboration with the air force, adding that the state was ready to partner with the air force in the state.

“We will see how we can support you by way of allocation of lands and some support to enable you move your men and officers down to the airport to take effective control,’’ said the governor, adding that, ‘‘that was a critical infrastructural project embarked by the restoration government that will serve the state and the country for a very long time.”

He said the administration intends to use education to prepare for tomorrow where people will be safe and find jobs and where they can contribute vividly to development.

Dickson said: “We want to use education to break that evil circle that breeds unemployment militancy, criminality and we have gone very far in that. As a deliberate measure, we are also giving out schools that we have built to security agencies. We want them to be academically prepared to confront the challenges of tomorrow so that they can turn out people who are academically competent.’’

He also promised to hand over a fully equipped school to NAF.

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