By Princess-Ekwi Ajide, Abuja
The Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of Liberia, Major General Charles Johnson III has commended the Armed Forces of Nigeria for playing a vital role in the restoration of peace and stability in Liberia.
He also paid glowing tributes to Lieutenant General LN Yusuf and Major General SA Abdurrahman, who served as the first and second Chiefs of Army Staff of the new Liberian Military before handing over to an indigenous Army Chief.
Major General Johnson who gave the commendation and tributes when he visited the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor at the Defence Headquarters, Abuja said Nigeria and Liberia have had long standing defence and bilateral relations.
According to him, Liberia has witnessed seventeen years of relative peace and stability because of the sacrifices of men and women of Nigeria Armed Forces and for this, Liberia will remain ever grateful and indebted to Nigeria.
He said as an expression of Liberia’s depth of gratitude, a befitting memorial was being planned to honour and immortalize the Nigerian Armed Forces especially those who paid the supreme price with their lives to bring peace to Liberia.
The Liberia Army Chief who had attended the graduation ceremony of Senior Course 44 Students of Armed Forces Command and Staff College in Jaji, Kaduna a day before, said the courtesy call on the General Iraabor was to also enable him seek possibility of enhancing the existing defence ties in order to tackle contemporary threats facing the West African sub-region and Africa at large.
He emphasised that Liberia Armed Forces personnel who were already benefitting from the training arrangements with Nigeria , are learning immensely from the professionalism, expertise and experiences of their Nigerian counterparts, which according to him, would help in addressing future threats in Liberia and the West Africa sub-region.
In his response, Genera Irabor said Nigeria remains proud to have actively participated in the restoration of peace, law and order in Liberia during the period of the country’s security challenges and assured it will continue to render the needed support to Liberia in building the capacity required to undertake the responsibilities of defending and securing the country.
He said in accordance with his commitment to ensuring peace and stability in West Africa and the whole of Africa, President Muhammadu Buhari is supportive of the Nigerian Armed Forces engagements in Liberia.
A statement signed by the Director Defence Information, Major General Jimmy Akpor, said the Major General Johnson III with his team later paid similar visits to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Farouk Yahaya, Chief of Navy Staff, Vice Admiral Awwal Gambo and the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal Oladayo Amao in their offices at the Armed Forces Complex in Abuja.
The visiting Chief of Staff was accompanied by Colonel JS Willie (Commander Liberia Coast Guard), Colonel ON Ejiga (a Nigerian, who is a Senior Adviser ECOWAS Adversory Training Team to Liberia) and Captain JJ Dwanah (Liberia Military Pilot).
