The Nigerian Air Force (NAF), on Monday commenced the airlift of electoral materials for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) across the country for the conduct of the 2019 General Elections.
According to a statement issued on Tuesday by the force’s spokesman, Ibikunle Daramola, the airlift exercise includes day and night missions, during which both sensitive and non-sensitive electoral materials were conveyed in batches, with NAF C-130 Hercules aircraft from the Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja to various airports across the country.
The materials were duly delivered by the C-130H aircraft crew to teams of INEC and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) officials together with security personnel waiting at the various airports.
It would be recalled that the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Sadique Abubakar, during his meeting with Air Officers Commanding (AOCs) and NAF Field Commanders on 1 February 2019, had expressed the readiness of the NAF to avail INEC its transport aircraft to enable expeditious movement of electoral materials, as done in the past.
The Air force, however, stated that the transport aircraft are deployed solely to provide airlift support to meet INEC’s logistics requirements, in fulfillment of NAF’s constitutional role of providing Military Aid to Civil Authority.
