The newly appointed commandant of the Army War College Nigeria (AWCN) Maj.-Gen. Bamidele Alabi on Wednesday took over the headship of the college as the fifth commandant.

Mr Alabi took over from Maj.-Gen. Solomon Udounwa.

Mr Udounwa was redeployed to Army Headquarters and appointed Chief of Special Services/ Programmes (Army).

The college’s spokesman Maj. Muhammed Maidawa disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

In his valedictory speech, the outgoing commandant, Mr Udounwa, congratulated Mr Alabi, whom he described as an integral part of the college.

Mr Uduonwa, while wishing his successor a fruitful and successful tenure, urged the college community to extend the same cooperation and support given him to his Mr Alabi to enable the college to continue to succeed.

Mr Alabi promised to build on the legacy of the immediate past commandant and commended him for his purposeful leadership and mentoring of decades.

Mr Alabi was among the five pioneer directing staff of the college when established in 2017. He is a member of the 41 Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) and the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps.

The new commandant has held various appointments in command, staff and instructional capacity, including directing staff at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College (AFCSC) Jaji.

He was also the commanding officer, Nigerian Battalion 29 (NIBATT29) United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and Commander, 3 Brigade Kano, before being appointed director of Studies and Coordination at AWCN.

Mr Alabi is also a member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (NIM)and a senior executive fellow of the Harvard Kennedy School.

Some of the key military courses he attended include Senior Staff Course in AFCSC, Advanced Command and Staff Course in the United Kingdom and Higher Defence Strategic Studies Course at National Defence College Nigeria.

(NAN)