Nigeria Army has sanctioned the promotion of 5,000 soldiers fighting the Boko Haram insurgents in the North-East and others involved in other operations, as part of steps to boost their morale.
The Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, made this public on Monday in Abuja at the opening of the 2015 Chief of Army Staff third quarter conference held at the Army Headquarters conference hall.
He said that the approval of the promotion of the soldiers is aimed at boosting the morale of the troops and re-position its operations.
Adding that it was also in line with the vision of the Army command to reward gallant troops in any way deemed fit to boost their combat readiness and willingness to serve their fatherland.
Buratai noted that troops serving in the North-East and in other operations in the country would regularly receive rewards from the Army high command for their selfless service to the nation.
“Since we came on board, we have introduced several measures aimed at encouraging our troops to give their best in the service of their nation.
“The approval of the accelerated promotion of 5,000 soldiers was to redeem the promise made by my predecessor to the troops fighting insurgents in the North-East.
“It is my belief that this promotion, coupled with other incentives, will encourage our troops to fight for our country,’’ he said.
Buratai said that the Army, under his watch, within the short period, had recorded major successes in the areas of fighting insurgency, improving its human rights credentials as well as improving the welfare of troops.
He said that his vision of entrenching professionalism and bequeathing a combat ready Army to the nation was on course as commanders and troops had been fully briefed to key into the vision.
He warned commanders and senior officers to guard against acts that could undermine efforts of the present administration to rebuild the image of the Army.
