Defence Corporation Bill: SDP Hails Tinubu, Wants Close Supervision
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) has lauded President Bola Tinubu for assenting to the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Bill, 2023, as part of efforts to improve the nation’s security.
The South-West Zonal Secretary of SDP, Mr Femi Olaniyi, said on Friday in Lagos that the bill, signed into law, would further strengthen the nation’s fight against insurgencies.
Recalling that the bill was sponsored on the floor of the House of Representatives in the Ninth Assembly, Olaniyi commended the lawmakers for passage and the President for assenting to it.
Olaniyi said: This lawmaker and the President have done very well with this bill targeted at improving the nation’s security.
“It doesn’t not, however, end there, we need good supervision so that the intention of those who sponsored it will not be defeated.
“If it will be well supervised, it will be a plus for the nation to locally produced military equipment.”
According to him, what the nation has been facing on security is enormous, hence the need to look inward to address all challenges.
Olaniyi said the nation had suffered a lot from the mismanagement of military equipment funds in the time past.
“This is apt and if well managed, the nation will be empowered to fight against insurgencies and other security challenges.
“It will boost the morale of our troops and combatants. With good equipment, our military men will not shy away from their responsibilities
“This is a good thing but it doesn’t end here,” the scribe added.
Olaniyi advocated the constitution of a committee that would oversee all allocations to the corporation, so as to ensure that public funds were spent for the purpose they were meant for.
Tinubu, on Thursday, assented to the bill which repealed the previous iteration of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria Act.
The Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria was established on Aug. 1, 1964, by an Act of Parliament and revised as the DICON Act in Chapter 94 of the Laws of the Federation, 2004.
Sponsored by the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, Babajimi Benson (APC — Ikorodu Federal Constituency) the new iteration empowered the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria to: operate, maintain, and control subsidiaries and ordnance factories to manufacture, store, and dispose of ordnance and ancillary stores and material.
The Act also made for the establishment of the Defence Industry Technology, Research, and Development Institute to create an elaborate scientific and research-based technological foundation for Nigeria’s defence industry among others.
The Act provided a comprehensive regulatory framework for the regulation of the manufacturing, distribution, storage, and disposal of defence articles in Nigeria.
It also encouraged the development of a nuanced financing architecture that enabled private capital to facilitate research, development, and production in the defence sector in a transparent and predictable fashion.