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The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle, has said the Federal Government planned to resuscitate the Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria.
DICON was established by an Act of Parliament in 1964 to produce weapons locally. However, its inability to deliver on its mandate has made the military heavily dependent on foreign countries for arms and ammunition.
Speaking during his visit to the organisation, Matawalle promised that the industry would be transformed to be able to produce military hardware.
A statement on Saturday by the Ministry’s acting Director of Press, Attari Hope quoted the minister as urging the staff of DICON to brace up for the transformation of the company.
The statement partly read, “The Minister of State for Defence, Bello Matawalle charged the staff and engineers of the Defence Industry Corporation of Nigeria to improve on their performances as Federal Government plans to revamp and scale up the industry to a full production capacity in the production of Military equipment and hardware.”
“As the technical personnel of this promising industry, your professionalism and dedication to work are paramount in sustaining the vision and growth of this industry. We will ensure you get adequate funding to achieve this.”
The Director General of DICON, Maj Gen AE Edet, assured the minister of DICON’s unwavering commitment to its vision and objective which it was set up.
