The COAS gave the charge on Friday, 7 August 2026, during the graduation ceremony of the Advanced Infantry Training Programme, code-named Exercise RESTORE HOPE X, held at the Nigerian Army Training Centre (NATC), Kachia, Kaduna State. Lieutenant General Shaibu noted that the graduation comes at a defining period in the ongoing transformation of the Nigerian Army, which is currently undertaking one of the most deliberate force expansion and capability enhancement initiatives in its history. He explained that many of the graduating soldiers would constitute the nucleus of these new formations and are expected to translate their training into operational effectiveness. The COAS expressed profound appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for his unwavering support to the Nigerian Army’s operational, training and administrative requirements, describing the President’s strategic guidance and continued investment as instrumental to the Service’s ongoing transformation and force expansion. He further added that the exercise has strengthened institutional capacity by standardising post-basic infantry training, refining instructional methodologies and promoting continuous improvement across the Nigerian Army’s training establishments.