Nigeria, will any time from now, begin the production of hardwares for its Armed Forces.
The Vice President, Architect Namadi Sambo, disclosed this on Tuesday during a Presidential Committee meeting on the Review of the Structure, Operation and Activities of the Defence Industries Corporation, which he chaired.
At the meeting, held in his office at the State House, Abuja, Sambo said DICON, under President Goodluck Jonathan, will be competitive and will provide for the accoutrements and other hardware needs of the nation’s Armed Forces, Paramilitary services and the Police.
Sambo said the framework that the committee would develop is to ensure that DICON meets the objectives of its founding fathers, which was to ensure the local production of the needs of the country’s security forces.
The vice president also used the occasion to call for synergy between DICON and its primary consumers.
Sambo, who expressed his desire to visit DICON, the Army Research and Development Centre in Abuja, the Naval Dockyard and the Airforce aircraft maintenance facility in Lagos, used the occasion to congratulate the Nigerian Army for developing and manufacturing a wholly Nigerian made Armoured Personnel Carrier, which was recently commissioned by President Jonathan.
Earlier, the Director General of DICON, Major General S. U. Labaran, expressed gratitude to President Jonathan for setting up the high powered committee, which was being chaired by the vice president.
Labaran noted that DICON has the capacity to produce various types of military hardware and other accessories.
He said that the Corporation also produces industrial machine parts for the Kaduna Refinery, adding that it has a world class welding facility and the capabilities to produce ballot boxes.
It will be recalled that Sambo inaugurated the Committee on October 19, 2012.
The Committee has the following terms of reference: to review the DICON Act to position it to effectively carry out its regulatory functions to ensure compliance with guidelines in the procurement in the country; to determine ways to encourage private sector participation not just in the activities of DICON but also in the production of military equipment; to propose a sustainable funding framework to enhance the development of defence equipment in Nigeria; to determine ways to encourage ways of patronage of foreign countries; to consider or otherwise the establishment of training institute; the Committee has four weeks to complete its assignment.
The Committee has the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance; Ministers of Works; Interior; Trade and Investment; Defence; National Planning; Police Affairs; Aviation; Transport; Science and Technology as members.
Others are DG, DICON; DG, Bureau of Public Procurement; DG, Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission; Commandant, NDA; Rep of National Security Adviser; Reps of all Service Chiefs; Rep of Inspector General of Police; Secretary to the Government of the Federation serves as the Secretariat.
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