US Donates N24m Aircraft Parts to Nigeria Airforce

This Day (Lagos)
NEWS
December 5, 2003
Posted to the web December 5, 2003

By Onyebuchi Ezigbo
Abuja
United States of America yesterday handed over spare parts worth $155,000
(N23.25 million) to the Nigerian Armed Forces for the repair of the Nigerian
Airforce C - 130 fleet.
Presenting the items to the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Alexander Ogomudia at
the Defence Headquarters in Abuja, US Embassy Charge d'Affairs in Nigeria, Mr.
Roger Meece, said the restoration of the Aircraft will provide not only Nigeria
but also all of West Africa with a viable force projection capability.
Commending the positive roles being played by Nigeria's Armed Forces especially
in its peace- keeping efforts, Meece expressed the hope that the restoration of
the C-130 Aircraft will enhance the country's ability to rapidly move troops
and materials in response to political instability and environmental
catastrophes.
The consignment is the first of other such sales, which will be provided to the
country under a $3 million Foreign Military Finance (FMF) grant.
Meece noted that the current effort to resuscitate Nigerian C-130 fleet have
been one of the cornerstones of the strong military -to-military relationship
between the two countries.
Through this programme, the Office of Defence Cooperation at the US Embassy,
Ministry of Defence and the Nigerian Airforce set aside $7.5 million to assist
in putting the C-130 Aircraft back into the air, Meece revealed.
The envoy gave a breakdown of the project into five areas namely; $2 million
for training of C-130 personnel, $2 million for repairing components, $375,000
in technical assistance, and safety publications.
As a result, 14 Nigerian Air Force personnel have attended or are currently
attending training and acquiring new skills in order to become more proficient,
Meece further said.

   

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