President Buhari initiates move for domestic weapons production
President
Buhari has initiated moves for the production of weapons in Nigeria.
According to a statement signed and released by Senior Special Adviser
to the president on media and publicity Garba Shehu today August 7th,
President Buhari charged the Federal Ministry of Defence to produce 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. The statement after the cut..
President
Muhammadu Buhari Friday in Abuja directed the Federal Ministry of
Defence to produce 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.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the National Defence College,
President Buhari described as unacceptable, Nigeria's current
over-dependence on other countries for critical military equipment and
logistics.
"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.
"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,"
the President said.
President Buhari told the gathering that his administration had, since
its assumption of office, reviewed the nature and character of Nigeria's
security threats and challenges.
"We recognized first and foremost, the external dimensions of these
threats and the need for international cooperation and common security
mechanisms to tackle them," the President said.
President
Buhari added that in the light of this realization, his Administration
was "convinced that the best approach was to work within the framework
of the Lake Chad Basin Commission (LCBC) to mobilize a collective
regional effort in the fight against terrorism and insurgency.
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.
"We
must apply a comprehensive strategy and coordinate all elements of
national power against terrorism and insurgency; we must show result
oriented leadership at all levels of military Command; we must set up an
optimal organization to manage and sustain operational performance; and
we must show confidence and winning mentality," President Buhari told
them.
The
President assured that the Federal Government under his leadership will
strive to meet the operational, logistic, training and welfare
requirements of the Armed Forces of Nigeria.
He also reaffirmed his
commitment to ameliorating the hardships of people living in areas most
affected by insurgency and terrorism.
"We
have the will, resolve and conviction to apply a comprehensive strategy
and coordinate all elements of national power against terrorism and
insurgency," the President reassured Nigerians and the international
community.
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.
The
President urged graduates of the College's Course 23 to resolve to make
"a marked difference in your future deployments and contribute your
quota to the evolution and implementation of national security, defence
and military strategies."
"You should be the source that lights up the environment wherever you find yourselves," he told them.
Garba Shehu
SSA to the President
(Media and Publicity)
August 7, 2015
