Politics
Buhari challenges military on weapons production
President Muhammadu Buhari has challenged the nation’s military to come up with a plan to produce small weapons to meet its needs instead of depending on foreign procurement for that purpose.
The president while speaking at the graduation ceremony of the National Defence College on Friday in Abuja, described as unacceptable Nigeria’s over-dependence on external authorities for military hardwares and other light weapons.
He therefore mandated the Federal Ministry of Defence to draw a plan for the establishment of a modest Military Industrial Complex for the local production of weapons to meet some of the requirements of the country’s armed forces.
“We must evolve viable mechanisms for near-self-sufficiency in military equipment and logistics production complemented only by very advanced foreign technologies.
“The Ministry of Defence is being tasked to draw up clear and measurable outlines for development of a modest Military Industrial Complex for Nigeria.
Read also: How fear of coup hurt fight against B’Haram
“In this regard, it is to liaise with other strategic MDAs and industries to re-engineer the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) to meet national military hardware and logistics requirements,” he said.
The President urged the graduates and officers and men of the Armed Forces to work harder to win the war against Boko Haram, terrorism and insurgency.
He also pledged to meet the operational, logistic, training and welfare requirements of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, even as he promised to rehabilitate areas devastated by Boko haram activities.
President Buhari said that the National Defence College had fulfilled the vision of its founding fathers, by becoming a strategic human capacity-building institution, making credible contributions to Nigeria and other friendly countries.
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