Spain: NAF Advances Tactical Airlift Capability Through Strategic Operational Engagement With Airbus

Strategic operational engagement with airbus in Spain. The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Nigerian Air Force (NAF), Air Marshal Sunday Kelvin Aneke, led a high-level delegation on an official visit to Airbus Defence and Space facilities in Spain from 14–18 March 2026 as part of ongoing efforts to enhance the Service’s tactical and medium airlift capability.

Central to the engagements were discussions on the potential acquisition of the CASA C-295 aircraft to strengthen operational mobility in support of counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations.

At the 35th Wing of the Spanish Air and Space Force, Getafe Air Force Base, the delegation was received and briefed on the aircraft’s operational employment, gaining valuable insights into its effectiveness in troop transport, logistics support, medical evacuation, and humanitarian missions, as well as its reliability, adaptability, and cost-effective maintenance profile.

The delegation subsequently held strategic discussions at the headquarters of Airbus Defence and Space in Madrid, focusing on the aircraft’s global acceptance, versatility, and proven performance across diverse operational environments. Airbus also highlighted its comprehensive support architecture, including training, logistics frameworks, and long-term sustainment packages tailored to customer requirements.

As part of exposure to emerging technologies, the delegation received a detailed briefing on the SIRTAP Next Generation Tactical Unmanned Aerial System, which demonstrated advanced intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance capabilities, as well as its potential integration with manned air operations.

The visit culminated at the Airbus production and assembly facility in Seville, where the CAS and his team undertook a guided tour of the production lines, observing first-hand the advanced manufacturing processes and quality assurance systems underpinning the production of both the C-295 and A400M aircraft.

Speaking during the engagements, Air Marshal Aneke expressed appreciation to the Spanish Air and Space Force and Airbus for their hospitality and transparency, noting that the visit provided critical operational and technical insights to support the Nigerian Air Force’s fleet modernisation drive.

NAF Advances Tactical Airlift Capability

“These engagements are vital to strengthening our tactical airlift capability and enhancing operational effectiveness in addressing Nigeria’s security challenges,” he stated. In response, Airbus representatives commended the NAF’s strategic vision and reaffirmed their readiness to support the Service through comprehensive partnership frameworks encompassing training, technology transfer, and sustainment solutions.

The visit underscores the Nigerian Air Force’s commitment to adopting modern, efficient, and mission-ready platforms in alignment with the Federal Government’s drive, under the leadership of President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to strengthen national security through continuous enhancement of military capabilities.

Obi-Kwankwaso Ticket Will Unsettle Tinubu: DANIEL NNAMANI

Obi-Kwankwaso ticket will unsettle Tinubu. Twenty-four hours, as they say, in politics is a long time. The pendulum can swing from north to south. As the 2027 general election draws closer, political gladiators are, from all indications, regrouping and forming different alliances to further and consolidate their political interests.

While the glaring truth is that the opposition parties — PDP, LP, NNDP, and ADC — are all in tatters, there seems to be a way out if they truly want to offer an alternative to Nigerians.

The PDP, a party that once boasted that it would govern Nigeria for 50 years, is now a shadow of itself, mired by protracted internal wrangling that has led to the massive defection of its governors to the APC, except for Oyo state’s Seyi Makinde and his Bauchi state counterpart, Bala Mohammed. Without mincing words, the party seems decimated, and as it continues its power struggle among the two factions — one loyal to Makinde and another to FCT minister, Nyesom Wike — it will be practically impossible for the party to field any presidential candidate in 2027.

Now that the PDP is almost obliterated, the exit of Peter Obi from the LP has also rendered the party unviable for any meaningful contest in the upcoming election. This means that the only party that can field a candidate to challenge Tinubu is the ADC. But the ADC as a party seemed to be dominated more by politicians who are more concerned with becoming the party’s standard bearer, rather than forming a formidable platform that will rally around a credible candidate who has a chance to cling to victory in 2027.

The upcoming election will be basically between the APC and others, so the party has a duty to present a candidate with organic support that can withstand the APC’s power of incumbency. Make no mistakes, no party as of now can fight the APC in terms of established political structures, institutional manoeuvring, and financial war-chest to win an election in today’s Nigeria.

From every indication, the ruling party has performed abysmally low in most key indicators of governance. From security to economy to education and healthcare, the numbers are not really in favour of the APC. While it might be argued that the macroeconomic indicators are positive, what matters to the ordinary Nigerian, who is the voter, is the food on his table. The APC, in simple terms, has pauperised Nigerians, and it is indisputable.

Now is the time for the ADC to get that candidate who has large followers who are politically conscious and can galvanise towards the party without monetary inducement. Peter Obi has that organic followership. In the 2023 presidential election, he took an obscure LP to national prominence with his promise of financial probity, which resonated so well with urban and young voters. That large followership can be consolidated by the ADC.

As part of the Eid al-Fitr celebration, Obi has journeyed to Kano, where he was welcomed at the residence of NNPP national leader, Musa Rabiu Kwankwaso. At the gathering, members of the Kwankwasiya movement were also seen chanting “Obi-Kwankwaso,” and that chant might really be the joint ticket that can stand against Tinubu.

It has been reported that former President Olusegun Obasanjo is midwifing a joint ticket between Obi and Kwankwaso. And Kwankwaso himself has hinted that if he is offered a vice presidential slot in the ADC, he would be willing to accept it. But many fear that if Atiku gets the ticket of the ADC, then Kwankwaso’s defection becomes meaningless as he cannot deputise a northerner.

Kwankwaso, with his Kwankwasiya movement, and Obi, with his Obidient movement, can change the narrative of opposition and give Tinubu a run in the 2027 presidential election. This is because both movements are organic, and with Obi having a large followership in the south and Kwankwaso’s followership up north, the party, ADC, will be a party to beat in the next election.

Atiku Abubakar has a role to play in ensuring that ADC succeeds in the next election, but that role requires him to become a kingmaker rather than the king himself.

Obi-Kwankwaso

While it is his constitutional right to vie for any political office, there comes a time in a man’s life when he will take the back stage and allow fresh minds to have the day. History beckons to Atiku to do so.

Furthermore, the ADC can also explore the option of bringing the faction of the PDP that is loyal to Makinde to join the party and form a formidable opposition that has both resources and structures to win the election.

The ball is in their court, and how they play it will determine whether Nigerians will have an alternative to the APC in 2027. Time is ticking, and the earlier the ADC comes to this realisation, the better. A stitch in time saves nine.

Ex-ADC Guber Candidate In Adamawa Abdulaziz Nyako, Returns To APC

Abdulaziz Nyako returns to APC. Nyako, who represented Adamawa central from 2015 to 2019, announced his return to the APC on Saturday during a visit by Ahmadu Fintiri, governor of Adamawa, to his residence in Yola, the state capital.

“I am back in the APC,” Nyako, nicknamed ‘commander’, said.

In his remark, Fintiri described Nyako as a “formidable figure” who will strengthen the APC in the state.

“As the leader of the party, having taken full charge, I should look for formidable people like commander [Nyako] so that we can build this party together in this state and produce good leaders, particularly, leveraging on Mr President’s Renewed Hope Agenda,” Fintiri said.

“I can openly and categorically say that he [Nyako] is an APC card-carrying member.”

Nyako, son of Murtala Nyako, former Adamawa governor, was elected to the senate on the APC platform but later defected to the ADC. He was the Adamawa ADC governorship candidate in the 2019 poll.

The Adamawa central senatorial district, which he represented, comprises seven LGAs.

Last year, the Adamawa chapter of the ADC was embroiled in a leadership crisis, with rival factions loyal to Babachir Lawal, former secretary to the government of the federation (SGF); and Aishatu Dahiru, a former senator, clashing over the party’s state chairmanship position.

ADC, APC

The dispute led to the emergence of parallel executives led by Sadiq Dasin and Saidu Komsiri.

In October, the national working committee (NWC) of the ADC affirmed Dasin as the party’s chairman in the state.