Governor Oborevwori asks to locate 83rd Division headquarters in Delta State
Governor of Nigeria’s Delta State Sheriff Oborevwori has appealed to President Bola Tinubu and the Nigerian Army to locate the headquarters of the newly established 83rd Division in the state. He made the statement in Asaba during a meeting with a delegation from the Nigerian Army Headquarters conducting consultations on the redistribution of areas of responsibility in connection with the creation of the division, Premium Times Nigeria reports.
The governor’s arguments
Oborevwori said Delta State has a central location among Delta, Edo and Bayelsa states, which fall within the new division’s area of responsibility. According to him, locating the headquarters in Delta could reduce military response times and strengthen the protection of strategic facilities in Nigeria’s South-South region.
The governor also referred to the state’s significant share of Nigeria’s oil and gas production. He noted that Delta has three airports — in Asaba, Osubi and Escravos — as well as seaports in Warri, Burutu, Sapele and Koko. Oborevwori said the state government was ready to allocate land, provide temporary facilities and financially support the start of operations of the new military formations.
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Expansion of the army structure
The head of the delegation, Major General Thompson Bobbi Ugiagbe, the army’s Chief of Standards and Evaluation, said the 83rd Division is being created after President Tinubu approved the expansion of the Nigerian Army’s structure from eight to 12 divisions. According to him, the new division will be responsible for Delta, Edo and Bayelsa states.
Ugiagbe noted that Delta will retain the headquarters of the 63rd Brigade in Asaba, three battalions in Warri, the 90th Amphibious Battalion and the 181st Battalion. The state is also to receive the 246th Reconnaissance Battalion, already established in Olech, a new field artillery regiment and an air defense regiment. The air defense regiment is proposed to be located in Osubi because of its proximity to the airport and other critical infrastructure.
