The four newly acquired war ships by the Nigerian government for the Nigerian Navy were inaugurated in Lagos on Thursday, February 19, 2015 by President Goodluck Jonathan.
At the ceremony, Jonathan promised to ensure the Islamic sect called Boko Haram is defeated by his government.
He assured Nigerians that the new equipment would be used to fight and conquer terrorism in the country.
The President was received by Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Usman Jibrin, and officers of the Nigerian Navy at the Naval Dockyard Limited in Victoria Island, venue of the occasion.
Jonathan said, “Let me use this platform to promise my Nigeria country men and women that we will rout Boko Haram.
“Our capacity has increased sufficiently and our officers and men are doing wonderfully well in the North and we must conduct our elections as scheduled by INEC.
“I commend the Chief of Defence Staff, Alex Badeh; Chief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Usman Jibrin; and other service chiefs, officers and ratings, who have made this inauguration possible.
“As the lead maritime security agency, therefore, the NN deserves all the support it needs to effectively carry out its statutory roles.”
He added that, “The four ships being inaugurated today are part of a total of eight ships that are expected to be commissioned into the NN fleet in 2015.”
In his remarks, Jubrin thanked the President for his support to the Nigerian Navy and assured him of their commitment to secure the Nigerian waters.
The four new ships; NNS Centenary, NNS Okpabana, NNS Prosperity and NNS Sagbama, were handed over to their commanding officers, Capt CD Okehie, Capt AM Ibrahim, Capt MY Abba and Capt BK Effiong respectively.
