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.
“The shift to local production is expected to boost efficiency and reduce reliance on imported hardware,” he clarified.
Badaru made this known shortly after concluding his 2-day working tour of military institutions and facilities in Kaduna.
The minister visited key military institutions, including the Nigerian Defence Academy, Nigerian Army Command Engineering Depot, Buffalo Engineering Technical Services Limited, and the Nigerian Air Force Institute of Technology.
During his visit, Badaru praised the ongoing efforts in training, local production, and refurbishing military assets.
He emphasised that training remains a vital pillar in achieving Nigeria’s defence objectives.
The minister inspected several workshops and was impressed by the potential and progress on repairs and refurbishing of military hardware.
He noted that new combat platforms, bulletproof glasses, spare parts, and surveillance UAVs are being built at the workshops.
“Some of the equipment successfully constructed and repaired are made readily available for redeployment, while others are already deployed back to theatres of operations,” he explained.
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.