Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Olufemi Oluyede, has described retired military officers as critical to national security, saying stronger collaboration with veterans would boost intelligence gathering and support security operations.
Oluyede spoke in Yola yesterday after meeting veterans who converged from all six North East states for an engagement session, stressing that their military experience and knowledge of local communities could aid security agencies.
‘Veterans are members of the country who have served meritoriously. We feel it’s important for us to engage with them… we thought we could leverage this to galvanise them for better intelligence acquisition, going by the challenges we’re having in the area of security,’ he said.
Addressing veterans’ welfare concerns, the CDS said salary increases for serving personnel have a corresponding effect on pensions and welfare for veterans, pledging continued efforts to improve their welfare while drawing on their experience to strengthen national security.
National President of the Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Officers’ Association of Nigeria (RANAO), Maj.-Gen. Hussaini Saliu rtd), said the association was committed to promoting the welfare of retired officers and supporting national development.