Nigerian Air Force gets new spokesperson as Alonge moves to anti-Boko Haram troops

The Nigerian Air Force has appointed a new spokesman to manage its public affairs activities, a statement by the Force said Wednesday.

The new Director of Public Relations and Information, Ayodele Famuyiwa, a group captain, replaces the former Air Force spokesman, Dele Alonge, an air commodore, who has been moved to the Defence Headquarters as Theatre Information Officer.

According to the statement by B.O. Okon, a wing commander, Mr. Alonge’s new appointment was created recently specifically to handle media operations with respect to the ongoing counter insurgency operation in Northeast Nigeria.

The new office is part of the recent efforts by the military leadership to restructure the Northeast campaign in order to effectively counter the Boko Haram insurgents and enhance the success of Operation Lafiya Dole, as the anti-insurgency campaign is called.

Until his recent appointment, Mr. Famuyiwa was deputy director of public relations and information at the headquarters of the Nigerian Air Force.

He enlisted into the Nigerian Air Force on August, 17, 1990 as a member of the Nigerian Defence Academy Regular Course 42.

He graduated from the NDA on September 16, 1995 with BSc (Hons) Chemistry, emerging the Best Graduating Cadet in the Chemistry Department and Faculty of Science, and the overall Best-All-Round Air Force cadet in his set.

Mr. Famuyiwa is an alumnus of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism (NIJ) Ogba, Lagos, where he obtained his postgraduate diploma in Journalism. He also holds Diploma in Public Administration (Moshood Abiola Polytechnic) as well as Master’s Degree in Environmental Management (University of Lagos), and Human Resource Management (University of Birmingham, United Kingdom).

He has served in various Units and commands in the Nigerian Air Force as public relations officer, including the Military Pensions Board where he was the first PRO.

He is a member of several professional bodies including the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), United Kingdom.

He is also a member of the prestigious global Chevening Community with over 44,000 alumni worldwide.