Air chief decries poor infrastructure in Gombe base

The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Hassan Abubakar, has decried the poor infrastructure at the Naval base in Gombe.

This is as he appealed to the Governor of Gombe State, Muhammadu Yahaya, to assist in improving the infrastructure at their base in the state, making it more conducive.

Abubakar made the call on Saturday during a courtesy visit to Yahaya at the old banquet hall at the Gombe State Government House.

According to Abubakar, his visit was to solicit the governor’s support for the naval base.

In his remarks, he said, “This will enable us to operationalise and enhance facilities at the base more expediently. Any assistance will go a long way in ensuring the base is fully operationalised as quickly as possible.”

He decried the lack of potable water supply, electricity, and roads within their newly acquired base in Gombe.

Abubakar said, “The presence of the Nigerian Air Force in Gombe State began humbly in 2015 with the establishment of the 175 Nigerian Air Force detachment.

“Thereafter, the state graciously allocated over 230 acres of land at the Lawanti International Airport. This prompted us to establish the 109 Combat Renaissance Group in 2019 to serve as a hub for systems operations for the Nigerian Air Force.

“We have made progress, but unfortunately, this progress has been hampered by a lack of infrastructure, accommodation, and other facilities needed to support our personnel and technologically advanced platforms which we plan to deploy.”

While lamenting that the base is not connected to the national grid, Abubakar said that “the point where we would connect from is very expensive because we need transformers and cabling.”

For his part, Yahaya promised to address some of their requests, particularly the provision of water, constructing structures, and maintaining strict adherence to protocols before allocating lands close to the base.

“We thank you for your support to the state; Gombe State will continue to support and stand by you,” Yahaya said.