President Bola Tinubu has assented to the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Bill, 2023.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria was established on August 1, 1964 by an Act of Parliament and revised as the DICON Act in Chapter 94 of the Laws of the Federation, 2004.
According to Ngelale in the statement on Thursday, the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act, 2023 repeals the previous iteration of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act and empowers the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to:
(1) Operate, maintain, and control subsidiaries and ordnance factories to manufacture, store, and dispose of ordnance and ancillary stores and material.
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(2) Establish the Defence Industry Technology, Research, and Development Institute (DITRDI) to create an elaborate scientific and research-based technological foundation for Nigeria’s defence industry through the leveraging of combined, multi-disciplinary research from multiple military research institutes for application that leads to commercialisation and the development of new military technology and capacity in Nigeria.
(3) Provide a comprehensive regulatory framework for the regulation of the manufacturing, distribution, storage, and disposal of defence articles in Nigeria.
(4) Incentivise the development of a nuanced financing architecture that enables private capital to facilitate research, development, and production in the defence sector in a transparent and predictable fashion.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Bill, 2023 was sponsored by the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Hon. Babajimi Benson, representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency of Lagos State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress.