The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya, says there is the need to resuscitate the partnership between the Nigerian Army and Russian Defence.
Yahaya said this when the Russian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Alexey Shebarshin paid him a courtesy visit in his office in Abuja on Thursday.
He said that Nigeria and Russia had been cooperating for decades, adding that some of the military equipment being used by the Nigerian army were procured from Russia.
According to him, we will leverage on the visit of the envoy to explore new areas.
He listed some of the areas to include the Nigerian army aviation, artillery equipment and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV).
According to him, the army is particularly interested in UAV so as to be able to have ability for surveillance for a longer duration to facilitate the counter insurgency operations.
“We have a lot of requirements and we know that we can get support from Russia.
“We will discuss further and see areas we can cooperate,” he said.
Earlier, the Russian Ambassador to Nigeria said that the Russian defence had made a lot of breakthroughs in the area of war equipment,.
The ambassador said his country could be of great importance to Nigeria in prosecuting the ongoing counter insurgency operations.
According to him, Nigeria occupies a very significant position in Africa, as the nation’s peace and stability is of paramount interest to Russia.
He said that Nigeria must do everything to resist the onslaught of the terrorists and bandits to be able to ensure stability and development, adding that any nation that wants peace must do all it takes..
“We are here today because we know that the Nigerian army of today is the basis of stability in your country and peace is absolutely necessary for solving development issues in your country.
“Our idea is that Nigeria is a vital central point of importance in Africa and the stability and development of your country will stabilise the African continent.
“We believe it is very much in our interest because we have many Multinational companies in different countries,” he said.(NAN)
•PHOTO: Lt.-Gen. Farouk Yahaya and Mr Alexey Shebarshin
