By Cynthia Alo
Former Nigerian Air Force spokesman Group Captain Sadeeq Shehu (Retd.) has faulted the Federal Government’s timeline for starting up four new army divisions, saying it is unrealistic to expect any of them to be combat-ready within the stipulated months.
This is even as he pointed out that the proposed 28,000 recruits are grossly insufficient to populate all four divisions.
Recall that last week, President Bola Tinubu approved the establishment of four new army divisions to be located in Makurdi, Ilorin, Jalingo, and Benin City, increasing the total number of army divisions from eight to twelve.
The first three divisions are targeted for takeoff by the end of September and the fourth by December, alongside the recruitment of about 28,000 new troops.Speaking during an interview on ARISE News on Monday, Shehu said a standard division requires between 15,000 and 20,000 officers and men, meaning 28,000 recruits could barely cover one division, let alone four.
