By Nuel Suji
Former Coordinator Joint Media Centre at the Headquarters of the Joint Task Force Operation in the Niger Delta, Col. Rabe Abubakar has been appointed Director of Defence Information.
Abubakar took over on Monday as new director of Information at the Defence Headquarters in Abuja.
He replaced Major. General Chris Olukolade, who is retiring from service next month after 35 years of meritorious service in the military.
The new DDI who spoke to journalists shortly after taking over, called for collaborative effort with the media, saying the security challenges currently confronting the country requires the collective efforts of all.
According to him, “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 assured journalists that he would at all time be available to respond and partner with the media in order to ensure a robust media-military relationship.
He promised to maintain excellent relationship with all segments of media to garner support the Armed Forces operations and their activities, so as to secure public understanding and goodwill in support of troops in the theatre of operations.
Abubakar promised to maintain the professional standard set by his predecessor, and even work hard to improve upon his achievement by tapping from his wealth of experience and knowledge from time to time.
Born on April 7 1965, Abubakar who hailed from Batsari Local Government Area of Katsina State, holds Bachelor of Arts Degree in History, was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1989.
He has held several Command and Staff appointments including: 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 Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, Nigerian Army Welfare Limited.
He also attended certificate courses including: Company Amphibious Course and National Defence College, China. His hobbies include Jogging, Badminton and reading.
