The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila has tasked the Ministry of Defence on the local production of military equipment.
Gbajabiamila spoke during the ministry’s 2020 budget defence to the House Committee on Defence on Thursday in Abuja.
The speaker said the National Assembly would support the various agencies of the ministry in the production of local content in order to protect the security of the country.
“Indigenous manufacturing is key; we encourage local content and it must spread even to security and we have men who are capable on delivering.
“They just need support and research also needs to be well funded.
“We should do better than what we have been doing in the past and we hope at the end of this budget exercise, we would have provided the needed tools to ensure you see to the protection of the country.’’
Earlier, the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Gabriel Olonisakin, said that the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) had begun the production of ammunition in collaboration with a Chinese company.
DICON, the defence corporation operated by the Nigerian Armed Forces, is responsible for the production of defence equipment and civilian products.
Olonisakin said the collaboration was to promote the production of local content.
The defence chief added that the Defence Space Agency and the Defence Research and Development Bureau were also some of the self-support organs of the ministry.
He said the bureau was doing well since it was taken out of the ministry to enable it be more effective.
“It will take some while to generate revenue and be self-sufficient but it has been doing quite well in the last one year.
“Progress has also been made in the space agency and also the bureau,’’ he said.
He, however, urged the house to support the ministry to protect the territorial integrity of the country.
