Buratai: The entire army headquarters will celebrate Christmas in north-east

Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff, says “the whole army headquarters will move to the north-east to celebrate Christmas and New Year with troops”.

Buratai disclosed this on Tuesday in Abuja while unveiling packs of bottled water, which a private initiative used to show appreciation to troops in the region.

According to the army chief, the advancement is an onslaught to finally flush out remnants of insurgents from the forest and rescue all those abducted in that area.

“This year (2016), the whole army headquarters will be moving into the north-east to celebrate Christmas and New Year with our troops,” he said.

Buratai described the bottled water initiative for free distribution to troops as “quite historic and the first of its kind”.

“The scheme involves branding 50cl bottle water with the image of the Nigerian soldier,” he said.

“It has the Nigerian army logo and that of stakeholders and partners from the private sector with the words: Thank you for your service.”

According to him, the initiative seeks to appreciate the efforts of Nigerian troops actively engaged in the defence of our dear nation.

“This will no doubt go a long way in boosting the morale of the troops to show that their labour is being recognised and applauded by Nigerians.

“This initiative is quite timely, coming at a critical stage of the operations, when the troops have embarked on `Operation Rescue Finale.’

“It will surely add vigour, impetus and stimulate the troops in this phase of the operation.”

The Enugu state government supported the initiative with N10 million, Ebonyi, N5 million) and the Nigeria Customs Service with N1.5 million.