 I'm delighted to be here in your midst today to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the Nigerian Air Force established in 1964 by an act of the Nigerian Parliament to preserve Nigeria's territorial integrity through the employment and the projection of air power. I'm proud to say that the Air Force has in the years since its establishment proved its method both locally and internationally. I must say that I am impressed by the displays put up by the officers, airmen and airwomen of the Niger Air Force at this ceremonial parade in the March past and parade and especially the aerial exhibition. These displays aptly demonstrates the Nigeria Air Force's commitment to achieving the high standards of operational readiness. Indeed our Air Force is willing, able and ready. I'd like to commend the Chief of Air Staff and his team for the commendable leadership that they have shown in providing for the Nigerian Air Force. As the Air Am of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, the Air Force has shown that despite its challenges in terms of quality of manpower, creativity and capability, we stand shoulder to shoulder with any Air Force in the world. As a country we are particularly proud, but in less than four years, we've been able to revitalize our Armed Forces for the full restoration of Nigeria's territorial integrity. As you may recall, the President in his inaugural speech promised to put an end to Boko Haram, to the Boko Haram insurgency and in fulfilling the promise as Commander-in-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, he prioritized the restoration of professionalism in the military to enable them effectively discharge their responsibilities. Substantial investments have been made in acquiring new platforms and other support equipment for the military and other security agencies, as well as in reactivating and upgrading existing platforms in the last four years. In this last four years the Air Force has acquired and reactivated several aircrafts, which are now helping to make a difference in the various sectors of engagement across the country. In addition, the procurement process for military hardware has been reviewed to remove inefficiency. In 2018, through a transparent first-of-its-kind government to government deal with the United States of America, we concluded the procurement process for the delivery in 2022, in 2020, of a dozen super-tocano aircrafts, which will no doubt be game-changing for Nigeria's air capabilities. I must also highlight the renewed focus on research, innovation, and self-reliance by the Chief of Air Staff. This is far-sighted. It's also an important component of the development of a military industrial complex on Nigeria and the armed forces in general. I'm pleased to note that we are seeing an Air Force that is increasingly confident about its abilities and its capacity to innovate and to deploy locally developed technology. This is manifesting in various ways, from the locally developed operational unmanned area vehicle, the Saigumi, which the President formally inducted into service in February 2018, to the collaborative work being done at the Air Force Research and Development Center in Kalduna to produce the first ever made in Nigeria aircraft. Of course, this must be situated within the general context of a greater emphasis on local capacity building by the Nigerian armed forces, with developments like the establishment of the Nigeria Army University and the revitalization of our defense industry's Corporation of Nigeria, DICON, serving as testaments to this renewed emphasis. Once again, I salute the resolve of our armed forces and the invaluable contributions of other security agencies in fully containing the security challenges in some parts of the nation, especially the contributions of the Nigeria Air Force, in addressing the security challenges of armed banditry, cattle rustling and kidnapping in the Northwest and in the North Central. Your efforts in conjunction with other security agents and especially other members of the armed forces have started to yield positive results. As we provide new platforms for you to carry out your constitutional role, Nigerians expect nothing short of exceptional service delivery from you and therefore charge you to continue to work to earn the confidence of the nation and the respect of the international community in terms of protecting lives and property and degrading and neutralizing all existing and emerging national security threats. I'd like to urge greater cooperation and mutual trust between the various arms of our security agencies, even while maintaining the healthy spirit of competition that underpins innovation and increased efficiency. The Nigeria Air Force should also strive to expand its collaborations outside of the military. By this I mean collaborations with academia, with think tanks, with civilian technology hubs and independent innovators and creators. I'm aware from discussions with the chief of air staff that already collaboration with our universities and with such institutes is already taking place. There's a great amount of potential waiting to be unleashed from these partnerships. Earlier this year young interns working at the federal government supported North East humanitarian innovation hub in Yola hit an important milestone in their work. They developed through 3D printing a fitting prosthetic arm for a former policeman who lost his arm while in service. This was an exceptional innovation because all of the materials used to develop the prosthetic arm and all of those involved in it of our and our residents in our dam our state. Across the country in hubs like this several of them supported by the federal government are doing exciting things and exciting ground is being broken and there is no reason why the armed forces should not be a permanent part of that story. Distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen these remarks would not be complete without acknowledging the roles played by the Nigerian Air Force and they just conclude I'm the Nigerian armed forces and they just concluded general elections. I'm aware of the efficient movement by air of electoral materials and the air surveillance conducted by the Nigerian Air Force which contributed to the success of the elections and therefore commend the armed forces and other security agencies on a job well done. Finally let me thank Nigerians for coming together as a united and determined people irrespective of political and ethnic affiliations to wage war against terror and insurgency. We are currently in this stabilisation reconstruction and resettlement phase of the overall effort in the northeast and we will continue to solicit your support and understanding until terrorism is completely eradicated. We will not relent until every trouble spot within our borders enjoys enduring peace and order. I once again congratulate the Chief of Air Staff and the entire Air Force and the entire Air Force family on the occasion of the 55th anniversary of the Nigeria Air Force. Long live the Nigeria Air Force Long live Nigerian armed forces Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria and thank you all for listening.