The Minister of Defence, Badaru Abubakar, has revealed that Nigeria is steadily moving from dependence on foreign military procurement to local production.
In a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday by Mati Ali, the Personal Assistant on Media and Publicity to the minister, Badaru stated that “this aims to facilitate local production, repairs, refurbishment, and supply of military hardware and ordnance.”
According to the minister, the shift to local production marks a significant stride towards self-reliance for enhanced national security.
He explained, “It is anticipated that the move to local production will increase efficiency and lessen dependency on imported hardware.”
Shortly after finishing his two-day working tour of Kaduna’s military facilities and institutions, Badaru announced this.
The Nigerian Defense Academy, Nigerian Army Command Engineering Depot, Buffalo Engineering Technical Services Limited, and the Nigerian Air Force Institute of Technology were among the important military establishments the minister visited.
During his visit, Badaru lauded the ongoing efforts in training, local manufacture, and renovating military assets.
He emphasized that training is still an essential component of accomplishing Nigeria’s defense goals.
The minister was impressed by the potential and advancements in military hardware repair and refurbishment after touring a number of workshops.
He stated that new fighting platforms, bulletproof glasses, spare components, and surveillance UAVs are being created at the workshops.
He said, “While some of the equipment that has been successfully built and repaired is already deployed back to theaters of operations, others are made readily available for redeployment.”
Badaru commended the Armed Forces for their initiative and emphasised the critical roles of Training, Research, Development, and Innovation in achieving operational excellence. He therefore urged continued collaborations between institutions and investment in military RDI. Also, the minister highlighted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to transforming Nigeria’s defense capabilities, noting the recent signing of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Bill into law.
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