Amid the ongoing Nigerian Army recruitment exercise, citizens of Rivers State have been enjoined to enrol and complete their slot.

Making the appeal during a briefing at the Garrison 6 Division Nigerian Army, Bori Camp, Port Harcourt, yesterday, Brig. Gen. Patrick Alimihkena, chairman of Nigerian Army Recruitment Enlightenment/Sensitization Campaign, disclosed that out of the 190 recruitment slots allocated to Rivers State, only 124 of her citizens had enrolled, leaving 66 slots vacant up till the time of the briefing.

Brig. Gen. Alimihkena, who is also the Director of Welfare, Army headquarters Department of Administration, assured fair-playing ground to all applicants, describing the ongoing online recruitment exercise as free, transparent and credible.

“We would not want the Rivers State slot not to be completed. There are 190 slots for Rivers State but only 124 have filled the online form. The army is an interesting place to be. There are a lot of opportunities in the army, a lot of amenities,” he said.

He dispelled the fear of insecurity in the country, especially in the north, rumoured to be the reason cited by most parents in the South-south and South-east region for withholding their children from joining the army, as uncalled for, adding that the recruitment was a group exercise, as no person would be singled out to be posted to any particular place to stay there forever.

Also speaking, Secretary of the Nigerian Army Recruitment Enlightenment/ Sensitization Campaign, Lt. Colonel Ogbemudia Osawe, said the ongoing recruitment was an opportunity for youths in Rivers to better their lives, given the self-improvement opportunities the platform offers.

Dismissing the issues of god-fatherism and insecurity expressed in some quarters, Osawe, who said he was also from the South-south, assured that any applicant that passed the medical and fitness tests would be taken, explaining that even during the militancy era, most of them were posted to the South-south and yet they survived.

He therefore advised youths from the region to be positive and committed when serving their fatherland, adding that the grace that saw them through was still there for them.

A press statement by the recruitment sensitization campaign team made available earlier to journalists in Port Harcourt, stated listed “job/career opportunities, enhanced regular pay allowances, opportunity to further one’s education, social integration with people from various tribes/religion, enhanced welfare/insurance services, housing, pension and gratuity,” as some of the benefits accruing to youths who join the Nigerian Army.

Commanding Officer, Admin Battalion, 6 Division Garrison, Nigerian Army, Port Harcourt, Lt. Col. Orobosa Ighehge, was present at the briefing. (THISDAY)