Prince Adetokunbo Kayode SAN, former Minister of Defence, has expressed support for the Federal Government on activation of the Defence industry sector in Nigeria.
In a statement, he applauded the activation of the defence industrial sector in Nigeria as a new economy. He said this new initiative by President Tinubu will expand our socio-economic horizon. It will among others also enable us to substantially domesticate the production and supply of security and military platforms and equipment in Nigeria whilst providing job opportunities for both uniformed and non-uniformed Nigerians.
Prince Kayode, who is also Chairman, Security and Logistics Worldwide Limited, noted with appreciation, the effort of the current Defence Minister, Alhaji (Dr) Badaru, in the operationalization of the new Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act (DICN) going by the scorecard of the Ministry of Defence.
Recall that the Defence Industry Corporation Of Nigeria, established in 1964 is primarily aimed at providing arms and ammunition and critical infrastructure support for the nation’s armed forces and other security agencies. Its effectiveness was hampered by lack of political will and legacy challenges.
“The new DICON law signed last year by President Tinubu established a domesticated national defence industries sector. The law seeks a transition into a national Military Industrial Complex (MIC) driven by the private sector, public-private partnerships, self-funding, but properly regulated by government.”
“With committed implementation, the initiative will ultimately save Nigeria huge costs in procurement of imported military hardware, create employment. Nigeria becomes a player in the defence industry sector while opening doors for export earnings. It will definitely and positively contribute to supporting our defence and security services in dealing with the national security situations, now and in the future.”
Prince Kayode stated that Nigeria already has agreements with several countries on defence and security cooperation, and reiterated that the DICON law will enable us operationalize and maximize opportunities emanating from these understandings.
He also endorsed the call by House of Representatives member, Babajimi Benson on the resuscitation of the Defence Industries Association of Nigeria (DIAN). The law aims to domesticate this industry and help our private sector to participate in the sector. The active participation of the private sector in this new economy is very critical to the success of the government initiative.
Identifying Private sector investment as the key engine for growth in any economy, Prince Kayode called on NACCIMA, MAN, and the entire Organised Private Sector (OPS) to move expeditiously in supporting the efforts of government and also to profit from the policies.
