The senate committee on defence has kicked against the poor budgetary provisions for the Defence Industrial Corporation of Nigeria (DICON) in the 2022 budget proposal currently before the National Assembly.
The committee headed by Senator Aliyu Wamakko Magatakada was angered by a paltry N2.1 billion allocated to DICON for the production of necessary military weapons for the Nigeria Army in 2022.
The Director-General of the Defence Industrial Corporations of Nigeria, Major General Hassan Fafida, while defending the 2022 budget proposal before the committee on defence said a total of N2.1 billion was allocated for capital expenditure.
He said this is short of N300 million from N2.4 billion capital expenditure allocated for DICON in 2021.
Major Gen. Tafida also urged the committee to increase the overhead proposed for his agency as N250 million proposed will be grossly inadequate.
The committee members took turns to decry government’s lip service in industrial revolution as regards production of military equipment in the country.
Senator Abba Moro (PDP Benue South ) said “it is unfortunate that DICON is reduced to a company that produces mere bullets when other countries that we started together like Brazil have moved on and now producing aircraft for their military.”
He lamented that Nigeria is not ready for industrial revolution as far as production of Military equipment is concerned.
However in his contribution, Senator Elisha Abbo (APC Adamawa) said ” there is nowhere in the world where government produces military weapons but in advanced countries, government partner with private companies to produce weapons and later buy from them.”
He stressed that “it is high time government start to encourage research and partner with indigenous companies to produce weapons for our military as it is done in some developed countries.”
Senator Abbo also called on government to stop further importation of AK 47 and in the meantime empowers DICON to start massive production of the weapon in order to move the company forward in view of the government’s huge investment in DICON.
In his closing remarks, the chairman of the committee on defence, Senator Aliyu Wamakko Magatakada, assured that the committee will do all it could to ensure that adequate funds are allocated to DICON so that it will carry out its mandates without any hindrance.
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Senate committee on defence decries poor budgetary provision for DICON. Senate committee on defence decries poor budgetary provision for DICON.
