‘Carelessness has grounded 50% of Navy ships’

Newly-appointed Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Ibok Ekwe-Ibas has stated, that half of the ships in the Nigerian Navy are in bad conditions and have been grounded due to carelessness.
Vice Admiral Ekwe-Ibas stated this on Monday during a familiarisation tour of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Quora in Lagos.
Addressing officers and ratings of the ship, Ekwe-Ibas also warned Naval personnel to stay away from oil bunkering while urging them to continue the fight against oil theft on Nigerian waterways.
He added that money realised from the increase in crude oil sales as a result of the drop in bunkering would be used to fund the military.
He said: “I, the CNS will not involve myself in any illegal act and I will not tolerate it. Nobody will or should use my name to perpetrate any illegal act. The nation is losing a lot through illegal activities and we must stop it.”

Read also: Oil theft: FG may probe JTF

He also advised the officers to disengage themselves from any illegal group they may belong to, warning that anyone caught would be punished accordingly.
He noted that it was the responsibility of the Navy to protect the country through the waterways, adding that any breach in the responsibility was a sign of betrayal of the country’s trust.
“Laxity of the past will no longer be tolerated; the Navy must live up to its constitutional responsibility,” he said.
The CNS also urged the officers to change their attitude in the way government’s property are being used, and enjoined them to maintain same.

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