Abuja — Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Oluseyi Petirin, yesterday disclosed that the Nigeria Air Force had saved the country over N1 billion that would have gone abroad but for its decision to engage local vendors to repair and rehabilitate aircraft within the country.

The Air Chief made the disclosure at the decoration of 33 newly promoted generals, including six Air Vice Marshals and 27 Air Commodores, adding that as a result of the arrival of the F-7 fighter jets ordered by the Federal Government, rehabilitation of C-130 and the ATR Maritime aircraft, flying operations would increase in the force.

The NAF Chief said that the Air Force currently has 65 pilots and other crew members training abroad pointing out that by April 2010, there would be an Air Fair in Nigeria as President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua had approved the fair involving the Air Force and some aviation vendors.

Petirin explained: "It was becoming obvious that government was becoming fed up with the huge amounts we were spending maintaining aircraft abroad, so we had to take radical measures. That is why we looked inward. Today, the NAF foundation through which we are doing this, has been able to save up to a billion in the last nine months simply because it has carried out maintenance of aircraft within".

He urged the newly promoted to brace up to the demands of their new ranks.

Earlier, Air Secretary at NAF headquarters, Air Vice Marshal Abdulahi Kure, explained that promotion, being one of the important management tools used in personnel management, "is not a reward for past service rendered but a testimony to the personnel's capacity and fitness to hold positions of higher responsibilities that would come with the advancement".

"Many criteria are used to determine officers eligible to be promoted. Merit is certainly one of the criteria used. However, it does not mean that the officers that are not promoted are not fit, most especially at the higher ranks. The major constraint is that of establishment vacancies. You can only promote what the establishment can conveniently accommodate".

The new Airforce Generals are AVM Gbolahan Adekunle, Lagos State, AVM Adetunji Faloyin, Osun State AVM Dickson Dilimono, Adamawa State, AVM Chimefulam Onyemaobi, Abia State, AVM John Aprekuma, Bayelsa State, and AVM Abdulahi Kure, Niger State. Also promoted Air Commodore is Yusuf Anas, formerly Director of Airforce Public Relations and Information.