The Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadiqque Abubakar has commission Coronavirus isolation ward and an Olympic size swimming pool at the Air Force Base Bauchi in a bid to tame the Spread of Coronavirus and enhance professionalism among officers of the Army.
The isolation ward houses 20 bed spaces and is furnished with personnel protective equipment for frontline workers treating covid-19 patients.
Commissioning the projects in Bauchi, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Baba Abubakar, said the Olympic size swimming pool was in furtherance of NAF’s resolve to enhance the competences and capacity of its personnel to enable them confront the evolving national security challenges.
“The Olympic standard pool that will be commissioned today is designed to ensure that trainee Special Forces personnel receive robust well rounded training to include watermanship skills to enable them operate effectively in marine and riverine terrains ” he said.
“Let me remind you that the task of nation building is a collective responsibility especially with the dynamics of the current security challenges facing our country. “It is therefore our duty to continue to generate excellent combat elements that can appropriately protect lives and properties of our citizens.
On the isolation ward, Saddique Abubakar said the commissioning of the isolation ward was to contribute in the fight against the dreaded coronavirus pandemic.
“The Nigerian Air Force in recent past has contributed and will continue to contribute its own quota to the fight against Covid-19 by providing airlift in support of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control as well as embarking on the mass production of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for its Hospitals.
CAS stated that the Nigerian Air Force has also provided medical grade oxygen for government hospitals from the 103 STG LOX plant in Yola and recently enrolled the Nigerian C-130 as an air ambulance that can medically evacuate 98 patients safely to locations with capable hospitals.
According to him, the construction and commissioning of the 20 bed Isolation Ward is also a proof of the NAF’s resolve to ensure that hospitals are properly equipped to face the contemporary challenges of medical practice in today’s world especially in response to emerging infectious disease threats globally.
Commenting on the development, Air Officer Commanding, Special Operations Command, Bauchi, Air Vice Marshal Charles Owho said that the isolation ward will help prevent the spread of the infectious Coronavirus across the country.
Owho who commended the Chief of Air Staff for providing the requisite leadership urged the army to make good use of the facilities.
