Osun Governor, Adegboyega Oyetola, has commended the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for embarking on Operation Buje Ekun, an exercise designed to demonstrate its combat readiness to confront criminals in the state and the South West region in general.
He also expressed his preparedness to join the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, to flag off the exercise today, in Ipetu Ijesa.
The governor spoke yesterday when the Air Officer, Commanding Special Operations, NAF, Air Vice Marshal JMD Gwani and his team, visited him at the Government Secretariat in Osogbo, the state capital.
Oyetola said the exercise will send signal to criminals that Osun is not a place for them to operate, just as he appealed to residents around the exercise zone not to panic, insisting that only the criminal elements will be on the run.
“I thank you most sincerely for this visit, and I thank the Chief of Air Staff for his interest in security of the nation in general, and Osun in particular. I put it on record that his effort through the 209 Quick Response Group, Ipetu Ijesa, in collaboration with our team, is yielding result.
“Taking the Exercise Buje Ekun to Osun is a good one, because it will send the right signal to criminals that Osun is not safe for them,” Oyetola said.
Earlier, Gwani said the essence of the exercise is to prepare and armed the troops for the security challenges confronting the nation.
He added that the counter-terrorism groups are strategically placed at geographical zones and sensitive places across the country, adding that Osun was chosen in the South West because it already has an Air Force Command Base, and this gives it an opportunity to train the troops adequately.