President Muhammadu Buhari will on Thursday unveil 81 national and regimental colours for the newly established and operationalised units and retired unit colours of the Nigerian Army.
The Army’s Director of Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, said this while briefing newsmen on the Trooping and Presentation of Colours Parade on Tuesday in Abuja.
Nwachukwu said the last trooping and presentation of Colours Parade for the army units was conducted in 2007.
He added that new units had been established and operationalised since then in line with the increasing operational commitments of the army as well as provisions of its extant Order of Battle (ORBAT).
He said colours were usually retired after 10 years of service.
According to him, most of the colours in the Nigerian Army have been used in multiple operations in various geopolitical zones of the country as well as foreign countries, hence deserving retirement and the presentation of new ones.
“It is against this backdrop and in line with the traditions, customs and ethics of the Nigerian Army, trooping and presentation of colours parade 2023 will be conducted to retire torn or worn out colours.
“A total of 81 units will, therefore, be participating in the parade; 53 colours will be due for retirement, while 28 will be presented to new units.
“The event is a unique ceremony not only to the units eligible for colours presentation, as many are looking up to this ceremony to witness the height of military discipline and regimentation”.