TheCable

Farouk Yahaya, chief of army staff, says he will run the army with fairness to ensure that soldiers discharge their responsibilities with professionalism.

Yahaya also pledged to provide exemplary leadership and thoroughly follow the existing operating procedures by ensuring that the army “becomes a formidable force for national defence and security’’.

The army chief said this while addressing the principal staff officers (PSOs), field and corps commanders, on Monday in Abuja.

According to him, for the Nigerian army to be competitive in the 21st century, it must remain professional and seek to develop competencies that will make it ready to undertake its constitutional duties.

“It is, therefore, against this background that my mission, which is a professional Nigerian army, is ready to accomplish assigned missions within a joint environment in defence of Nigeria,” NAN quoted him as saying.

“To achieve this goal, my command philosophy will rest on four pillars, namely: professionalism, readiness, administration and cooperation.”

He said customs and ethics must be followed strictly to create a strong army, adding that the task ahead is enormous.

“We must return to the tenets of adhering strictly to customs and tradition and ethics of our army and put in place a formidable Nigerian army,” Yahaya said.

“The task ahead of us is enormous, but so also is the strength of our common resolve to accomplish them.

“As your chief of army staff, I hereby restate my commitment to lead you with sincerity, with transparency and accountability at all times.

“I want to assure you all that I will run the army fairly and justly, giving equal opportunity to all based on individual competencies and character.”

Yahaya assured Nigerians of the army’s determination to ensure the territorial integrity of the nation.

He also paid tribute to Ibrahim Attahiru, the late chief of army staff, and other officers who died in the air crash that occurred on May 21, in Kaduna.