The Defence Headquarters has announced the appointment of a new spokesman to replace Chris Olukolade, its erstwhile Director of Information.

The new Defence spokesman is Rabe Abubakar, a Colonel, formerly took over the office today from Olukolade, a Major General, who is retiring from the Army in September after putting in 35 years of service.

Speaking after receiving the baton from Olukolade, the new Defence spokesman said he was aware of the security challenges in the country and stressed the need for a collective effort by all stakeholders to help solve them.

“There is absolute need for synergy of efforts and collaboration among all stakeholders to re-strategise in the area of information collection, management and determination in counter terrorism and insurgency,” he stated.

Abubakar promised to maintain excellent relations with all sections of media in getting them to support the Nigeria military in its activities, stressing that he would be “accessible, available, responsive and proactive” in dealing with media and other stakeholders.

He said further that he would also promote and maintain an excellent relationship between the military and the civilian population in order to gain public trust and goodwill in support of Nigerian troops wherever they operate.

Abubakar commended his predecessor for the hard work he had done in managing information concerning the military and promised to maintain the professional standard set by him.

The new Defence spokesman who hails from Katsina State was born in 1965 and was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1989.

He has acted previously in related military information management capacity as coordinator, Joint Media Centre at the headquarters of the Joint Task Force Operation in the Niger Delta; Commandant Nigerian Army School of Public Relations and Information, NASPRI, Lagos and the executive director, corporate affairs, Nigerian Army Welfare Limited.