The Vice Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Air Force, Hon Abass Adigun (Agboworin), has declared that the 12 units of A-29 Super Tucano aircraft ordered by the federal government will be the game changer in the battle against insurgency and other criminalities in the country.
Hon Adigun representing Ibadan North-East/Ibadan South-East federal constituency of Oyo state stated this in a statement from Florida, United States where he and four other member of the National Assembly Joint Committee on Defence and Air Force just concluded an assessment tour of six of the 12 planes ahead of their delivery to Nigeria in July.
The lawmaker stressed in the statement made available to newsmen in Ibadan that with six of the aircraft expected in Nigeria in July and the remaining six expected before the end of October, the military would be further empowered to take the battle against insurgency to the terrorists in their hideouts.
According to the retired US Naval Officer, the aircraft is equipped with state-of-the-art gadgets that enable it to carry out a series of military missions including close air support, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and can fly on an unpaved runway, among other capabilities.
Hon Adigun emphasized that the delivery of half of the planes in July would bring the Nigeria Air Force (NAF) to number 10 in the list of countries where Super Tucano planes are being used globally.
He maintained that the head of the US Air Force Fighters and Advance Aircraft Directorate, Colonel Authur Ford, during the visit explains that the long duration between the payment date and the scheduled delivery date is for the good of Nigeria.
“The Colonel explained to us that the long duration was as a result of the challenged encountered while they were configuring the Tucano aircraft. As a retiree of the US Navy, I know military hardware is not something you pick on the shelf. It takes time. More so, Nigeria gave them a specification that must be met in configuring the fighter plane”, he said..
Hon Adigun added, ” Ford also assures us that 10 out of the 12 aircraft are ready, while the remaining two are undergoing modification and integration to NAF specific operational configuration. He assures us further that the delivery date won’t change. He said the aircraft would come in handy for Nigeria in its long-running battle against terrorists and criminals.
The lawmaker expressed satisfaction with the progress of work done on the aircraft as well as the quality of the gadgets, assuring Nigerians that insurgents would be rolled back and decimated once the aircraft arrive.
